I have a confession to make. Seven years ago, and through no fault of my own, I fell in love with a Canadian.

After a long-distance romance, we married and elected to live in Canada. The main reason we chose Canada over the U.S. was because of the Canadian health care system. Therefore, I feel I must weigh in on the current health care debate in the U.S. and do what I can to counteract the misinformation that is deliberately being spread about Canada’s  health care system.

CANADA: HEALTH CARE HEAVEN

When I first experienced the Canadian health care system, I could not believe my good fortune. It was as if I had died and gone to Health Care Heaven.

I was only in the waiting room for five minutes. The doctor was pleasant, diagnosed my condition quickly, wrote a prescription, and told me that, if I had any more problems, he’d refer me for tests. (That would be paid for by the Canadian government.)

I was in and out of there in fifteen minutes. I paid nothing.  Yet, conditioned to always paying or having some sort of hassle when it comes to medical care, I asked the receptionist: “Are you sure I don’t owe anything?”

Nope, I didn’t. The tab – I was persistent and found out that my visit cost $50 – would be picked up by the province of Ontario, no questions asked.

I tell you, without shame, that I was so amazed and grateful that tears came to my eyes.

Since I became a Canadian resident four years ago I’ve gotten the best health care of my life.  I get an annual medical check up, I’ve been referred for precautionary mammograms, an ultrasound and blood tests, and I’ve had a minor surgery done, all at no cost to me. It has been fabulous.

I can go to my own private practice doctor or stop into one of several clinics instead.The doctors I’ve seen have all been interested in one thing: keeping me healthy, because that’s the point of the system.

Since they haven’t had to call anyone  for approval, they have referred me for whatever tests  they thought prudent as good, preventative health care to find and cure disease early.

I also can report that I waited far longer in waiting rooms in the U.S. (where I paid through the nose to be seen) than I ever have in Canada.

US: HEALTH CARE ROULETTE

As a U.S. citizen, however, I went through “health care” experiences that were more akin to health care roulette.

Young, Poor & Uninsured Phase

For instance, when I was young and poor, I was a pay-as-you-go patient with no insurance and, therefore, tended to go without medical treatment.

The most memorable event of this period occurred when I went to an ordinary M.D. in general practice and paid him what was for me an entire week’s pay to be seen, only to have him tell me that my symptoms were in my head and I needed to see a psychologist.

I walked out of his office frustrated and a  week’s salary poorer, but made the appointment with the psychologist he recommended.

At the end of that fifty-minute  meeting a couple of weeks later, the psychologist told me I was completely sane, needed no therapy, and should never have been referred to him,. He suggested I see a different doctor for what was obviously a medical need. Unfortunately,  I did not have the money at that point.

Employed & “Insured” Phase

When I finally obtained insurance benefits through an employer, medical visits required a co-payment. I also had to pick a doctor from an approved list.

I switched jobs, as we tend to do, and so had various types of partial insurance coverage.  Most required me to exceed a sizable deductible before  I could submit my medical costs and be reimbursed. So everything was out of pocket, which assured I kept my medical visits to a bare minimum.

Then there was the paperwork which was enough to dissuade me from submitting any  cost for reimbursement at all.

And, like so many Americans, I was denied treatment by whatever insurance company was calling the shots at any given time.

For instance, I was a passenger in a car accident and, literally, went through the windshield of the car.  As you might imagine, I was a mess when I was rushed, in shock and nearly unconscious, to  an emergency room where a plastic surgeon stitched my face back together.

Long story short, I was told I would need more surgery about a year down the road to try and make a prominent scar across my right cheek less visible.

When the time came for that surgery, the auto insurer (Nationwide) refused to pay for it, claiming a one-year statue of limitations on medical payments. And my private insurer refused to consider paying for the surgery despite the surgeon having reassured me that a private insurer would pay when my face was ready to undergo another surgery.

As a result, I still live with the remnants of a that scar across my cheek.

Yet I think this story is just a variation on the theme of what happens when medical care is firmly in the hands of for-profit insurers. As such, it is  not much different than stories millions of Americans can tell. Still, there’s more.

Losing Coverage Phase

After moving to California I secured a job with excellent benefits that included health insurance provided by the HMO Kaiser-Permanente.

When I left that employment, I had the option of continuing the HMO coverage, at full cost, which I did for many years because it was far better than anything else I could buy.

However, when I moved away from the Bay Area, I could not take my coverage with me. Moving to Florida meant losing my coverage.  So, one of my first goals upon arriving in Florida was to buy some kind of health insurance, yet that proved impossible.

Although I had never had a chronic illness nor gotten a lot of medical treatment, I found I was unable to buy an insurance policy of any type.

And even if I had been able to buy a policy, it would have cost me a minimum of $200 a month. That policy, in turn, would have required co-pays and prior approval for treatment, and would have had pretty significant coverage limitations.

Paying $2400 a year for dubious, limited coverage ($50,000 as I recall) made no sense to me, so I saw my rejection as a sign that it would be a waste of money and I didn’t need it.

Therefore, although serious illness is the number one cause of bankruptcy, I decided not to worry about being uninsured. I simply went back to the pay-as-you-go system.

When I would walk into a Florida clinic with a minor medical problem, I paid $60 for the visit and whatever it cost for medication prescribed.

U.S. insurers, and many prominent politicians who receive campaign contributions from insurance companies, claim that the U.S. has a health care system.

I disagree. It’s an insurance system and profits are its priority, not caring for people.

Canada’s system, on the other hand, is about keeping Canadians healthy.

More in my next post -

P.S. Listen to this interview with former CIGNA CEO Wendell Potter who talks about why the Canadian system is being slandered and who is spreading the lies.

www.prayerforce.org

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