Private and Public Health Care

Yes we are.
Some are very scared that we will back away from socialized medicine completely....they are the ones sucking at the public teat of health care imo.

Any change to the socialized health care system is considered an insult to the Greatest Canadian in History, Tommy Douglas, and we could never be allowed to insult the memory of a dead socialist.

By offering private care next to public care the effect is very simple.

The price of a doctor goes up. Which causes a similar price increase in the public care. Which eliminates any financial benefit to not having people on the public teat.

About the only benefit of private health care, is you'll get fewer frivolous medical visits, because people will have to actually PAY to get some help.

If you ask Americans, who have a strictly private system, they will tell you they want a public system, where anyone can get the medical help they need.

The real disadvantage of putting the two side-by-side, is the private side will attract more doctors and usually the "better" doctors...thus giving second-rate health care to the public service.

Is that necessarily bad? Especially for those coming in for colds and broken bones? Probably not. The public service is a great place for doctors to "start"...and should probably be a requirement for any doctor who wishes to practice privately, to serve at least (2? 5? years) in the public. Or to maintain at least 50% of their private practice open to public service?

It could work...but not without regulation of the medical profession, to keep it from becoming an American culture where prices are inflated...just because they can be.

A prime example I can present is this:
I had recently move to Winnipeg from New Jersey. I was playing volleyball and ruptured my left Achilles Tendon. I went to the PanAm clinic here to see what it would cost to have the repair done, as I did not have any medical coverage. The price was $2500. I called back to New Jersey to a friend who's an Orthopedic Surgeon. He said the same surgery would cost me $10,000 plus hospital time of about a week. That's another $200/day.
So, at "private" prices, the cost here was still 1/4 of that in the US. I chose to get the operation here.

"So, at "private" prices, the cost here was still 1/4 of that in the US. I chose to get the operation here."

so maybe we should market ourselves to Americans and have them pay a good chunk of our healthcare costs?

Many Americans DO cross the border for medical services. Especially in NY (Buffalo, Albany) and the Chicago, Detroit areas...where crossing the border only takes a short drive.

They come up here to buy medications too, because the meds here cost less than 1/2 of the same ones in the US.

The American system is so full of over billing and over priced procedures it is sad .

No that our system doesn't have its share of problems.

And most of the er problems can be solved by do I need a clinic or a emergency room , or maybe a band aid.

Pavolo wrote:And most of the er problems can be solved by do I need a clinic or a emergency room , or maybe a band aid.

or simply a kleenex.

Private care will simply cost much, much more if introduced. And we already have a tiered system.

I am tired of people whining that they must go to the U.S. or somewhere else for treatment. If you wanna go, GO! I have no problem with the wealthy going elsewhere to pay.... but in Canada, it should remain a 'Universal' system.

Why not privatize car insurance? You think that will lower your already extremely low premiums? If you think that, go to Ontario for a year and see how wrong you are.

We regularly send people to the States for treatment.

who is we?

JTF regularly sends his victims there for treatment ?

"we" the taxpayer

JTF wrote:We regularly send people to the States for treatment.

This is true. If the treatment is required immediately, but is unavailable in due time in Canada, the taxpayer pays to send that patient to the US for that immediate treatment.

It also applies if it's something that is required, but is not yet available in Canada.

Canada, however, pays quite the reduced rate for doing this. Usually about 1/2 what a US Insurance Company would pay for the same treatment.

Ya, by "we" I meant the Province.

Sun: I've got a deal with Neil Bardal for my victims.

my parents are free to go across the boarder for ANY emergency treatment if they so choose... because they live so far south east that the American hospitals are closer.

Any one can go there and it is like going to some rural hospitals for certain procedures . they are alot less busy and can do in a day what might take a week or two in town .

If a private system could attract Doctors to Canada and not steal them from our socialized system, then what you would have is lower wait times, because those that could pay, wouldn't think about going somewhere and actually paying for the service. That would be good, but I doubt any private system would attract otside Doctors.
The Welcome Back MRI clinic in Kamloops is a private clinic and it has the only Stang Up Fonar MRI machine in the country, a machine that gives you a 60% better read on what might be giving you pain from your spine . I wonder how they survive? Is it only rich people who wouldn't think twice about spending $2000 on this specialized MRI machine?
Maybe private isn't all that bad? Maybe private was like the private sports clinic at the Pan Am Clinic? How did that work?
Did any of you ever go there to be treated for an injury and have to pay them there for the service?

rosencrentz wrote:If a private system could attract Doctors to Canada and not steal them from our socialized system, then what you would have is lower wait times, because those that could pay, wouldn't think about going somewhere and actually paying for the service. That would be good, but I doubt any private system would attract otside Doctors.
The Welcome Back MRI clinic in Kamloops is a private clinic and it has the only Stang Up Fonar MRI machine in the country, a machine that gives you a 60% better read on what might be giving you pain from your spine . I wonder how they survive? Is it only rich people who wouldn't think twice about spending $2000 on this specialized MRI machine?
Maybe private isn't all that bad? Maybe private was like the private sports clinic at the Pan Am Clinic? How did that work?
Did any of you ever go there to be treated for an injury and have to pay them there for the service?

I've gone to the Private travel clinic "Skylark" on Tache for vaccines before and it was fantastic. The only catch is you pay a small admin fee when you sign up as a patient, like 40 bucks, then you pay 20 bucks for each appointment.

All clinics should charge nominal fees like that so they could afford better more efficient administration systems.

Here in Ottawa, the clinics all have touch screen tablet computers that they bring into the waiting room with all your patient information on it. It's 60 bucks to see a doctor and you often don't wait longer than 20 minutes. In fact, you can even go online and see the up to date waiting times so you can pick which clinic to drive to. It's like night and day compared to Winnipeg.

Also, generally there seem sto be no drunk street people clogging up the waiting room!

Drunk street people.....all those clinics on Main, handing out serious pills like candy only to be resold in the dark of night down certain back alleys. All funded for by us.....what a crock. Time to revamp a lot of our systems methinks.....

usedtoliveinstbon- How an a private clinic make money at $20? They must be subsidized by the government!
Does any one know?
The Pan Am Clinic was private. How did they survuve? They were set up as a sports clinic and they had incredible service. The Doctor there was the one who figured out I had spinal stenosis, after i went there dor a 2nd or 3rd time. My pain was intermittent 4 years ago,
I never paid a dime for any services there. How did that work as a private facility?
I noticed that they were bought out by Manitoba Health a few years ago.