Despite the cost of healthcare in America, the quality is generally seen as the very best there is. Canadian healthcare is so bad that anyone who can afford it will head south to actually get quality treatment, immediately. Up here a friend of my family is probably going to head to Mexico (can’t afford American care, sadly) for knee surgery because the waitlist in Canada is far too long and he can’t afford to be off work until it’s his turn.
America certainly does have it’s share of significant problems, but a huge amount of what they seem to eat up is blatant propaganda designed to erode the public’s faith in their nation. There’s a reason that so many Canadians move to the southern states if they can afford it.
I returned to Canada because of the healthcare issue in America.
You may be surprised to learn that people looking for an elective surgery and want to spend to skip the line will go to Tijuana. It’s apparently really great for all kinds of complex but not-medically-critical procedures.
I hear this all the time but honestly US healthcare sucks so much. Doctors are pushed by their companies to care about quantity of patients over actual care
Essentially nobody is complaining about the quality of care available here. The problem is that only the rich can really afford it. Most people will avoid going to the doctor if at all possible, just because they can’t absorb the cost even if they’re just told to take an Aspirin and sleep it off. Long-term care for anything serious is just impossible to recover from financially for most people - it literally bankrupts entire families. With how hard it is to move up a prosperity bracket, that’s a devastating blow that is often felt for generations.
I think your view might be slightly skewed because you have free care available, and can go to the US or Mexico for better options if you can afford it. Here, if we can’t afford it, we have nothing, or we assume tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
I guess my point is less about the quality of American care, and more about the quality of Canadian care. I hear so many Americans online hold up the Canadian system as a shining example of what healthcare should be, while I’d do pretty much anything to avoid having to deal with the system up here. It’s really a “grass is always greener on the other side” thing both ways I think.
Think of it as “worth the price”. Canadian healthcare is definitely worth the price, given that the price is zero. American prices are so high that nothing could be worth that, so it’s not even worth the price of an ambulance. Oh, yeah, they charge for the ambulance ride.
Almost everywhere in the world they charge for the ambulance ride. Except, some countries have state funded providers with super low subsidized prices or even free. And the private providers have to compete with that which keeps prices affordable. So using an ambulance is not a bankruptcy inducing event.
Despite the cost of healthcare in America, the quality is generally seen as the very best there is. Canadian healthcare is so bad that anyone who can afford it will head south to actually get quality treatment, immediately. Up here a friend of my family is probably going to head to Mexico (can’t afford American care, sadly) for knee surgery because the waitlist in Canada is far too long and he can’t afford to be off work until it’s his turn.
America certainly does have it’s share of significant problems, but a huge amount of what they seem to eat up is blatant propaganda designed to erode the public’s faith in their nation. There’s a reason that so many Canadians move to the southern states if they can afford it.
I returned to Canada because of the healthcare issue in America.
You may be surprised to learn that people looking for an elective surgery and want to spend to skip the line will go to Tijuana. It’s apparently really great for all kinds of complex but not-medically-critical procedures.
I hear this all the time but honestly US healthcare sucks so much. Doctors are pushed by their companies to care about quantity of patients over actual care
Essentially nobody is complaining about the quality of care available here. The problem is that only the rich can really afford it. Most people will avoid going to the doctor if at all possible, just because they can’t absorb the cost even if they’re just told to take an Aspirin and sleep it off. Long-term care for anything serious is just impossible to recover from financially for most people - it literally bankrupts entire families. With how hard it is to move up a prosperity bracket, that’s a devastating blow that is often felt for generations.
I think your view might be slightly skewed because you have free care available, and can go to the US or Mexico for better options if you can afford it. Here, if we can’t afford it, we have nothing, or we assume tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
I guess my point is less about the quality of American care, and more about the quality of Canadian care. I hear so many Americans online hold up the Canadian system as a shining example of what healthcare should be, while I’d do pretty much anything to avoid having to deal with the system up here. It’s really a “grass is always greener on the other side” thing both ways I think.
Think of it as “worth the price”. Canadian healthcare is definitely worth the price, given that the price is zero. American prices are so high that nothing could be worth that, so it’s not even worth the price of an ambulance. Oh, yeah, they charge for the ambulance ride.
Almost everywhere in the world they charge for the ambulance ride. Except, some countries have state funded providers with super low subsidized prices or even free. And the private providers have to compete with that which keeps prices affordable. So using an ambulance is not a bankruptcy inducing event.