Canadians and other people from countries with:

IN sweden its really good sure their are some few problems with waiting lines but in general its very good.

But then we have to pay a tax on 33% of our income.

IN sweden its really good sure their are some few problems with waiting lines but in general its very good.

But then we have to pay a tax on 33% of our income.

Rip870

That's quite high...

is the tax specifically for healthcare, or is it inclusive, and also cover other programs?

[QUOTE="Rip870"]

IN sweden its really good sure their are some few problems with waiting lines but in general its very good.

But then we have to pay a tax on 33% of our income.

dnuggs40

That's quite high...

is the tax specifically for healthcare, or is it inclusive, and also cover other programs?

programs as police welfare healthcareyou know public service the people need

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="Rip870"]

IN sweden its really good sure their are some few problems with waiting lines but in general its very good.

But then we have to pay a tax on 33% of our income.

Rip870

That's quite high...

is the tax specifically for healthcare, or is it inclusive, and also cover other programs?

programs as police welfare healthcareyou know public service the people need

Ah ok, makes sense then. I think when you add up all the taxes in the US, you probally end up paying more then 33%.

IN sweden its really good sure their are some few problems with waiting lines but in general its very good.

But then we have to pay a tax on 33% of our income.

Rip870

The NHS has problems, One of them s awful managementzeus_gb

The simple problem about "free" healthcare is the waiting times for emergency room services. If you had, for an example, extremely sore fingers day after day and you had no idea what was causing it... you might resort to the internet or a health book to see what the causes might be. Typically, they explain it to you, but they have to say "see your doctor" at the end because they can't give you a difinitive answer.

The problem here in Canada is that you can't just go "see your doctor". With family doctors, you make an appointment and they try to get you in as quickly as possible. This is usually a couple of weeks. If it's something minor, then that's no problem. But if it's something such as a sore hand, and it is interfering with your work, then you can't wait that long. You have to go to the ER, even though it's not an emergency. This leads to extremely long wait times at hospitals here because people who are in an ER mostly don't have emergencies, they are just things that can't wait 3 weeks to be treated by your family doctor. If there was a "middle-man" then that would be great, which is why a two-tier system has been suggested for a couple of years know where if you have the money, and it's not an emergency but it needs to be looked, then you would pay to have it checked

I've been to the hospital a few times and it depends on how you're triaged. If they think it might be something serious the wait isn't long. If it's not immediately life threatening though, the wait can be terrible.

Btw, I live in Canada and we've got a problem getting/keeping doctors and nurses. Last I heard, the US has been raiding our med schools.

I've been to the hospital a few times and it depends on how you're triaged. If they think it might be something serious the wait isn't long. If it's not immediately life threatening though, the wait can be terrible.

Btw, I live in Canada and we've got a problem getting/keeping doctors and nurses. Last I heard, the US has been raiding our med schools.

fynne

We're not raiding your doctors and nurses. They come here because the system is private and they can make more money.

As to waiting times in hospitals...that happens here as well. It depends on how busy they are and how serious your injury/illness is.

Ya, in the US we have some pretty bad waiting times. I have taken my kids to the emergency room a few times, and every time it was no less then a 2-3 hour wait. Even with scheduled visits to our doctor, there is usually a 1 hour wait.

So far the responses have been a bit more negative then I thought. I have spoken with quite a few canadians (they were contractors) and they all said they loved the health care system. Intersting to see the other side of it.

Well teh British NHS is OK.... and there are some pretty bad points though....we are always hearing stories about a "super bug" killing loads of people because of not cleaning wards properly.muppet1010

Yeah, the SUPER BUG is very aggresive. So if any of you see it, then make sure you call the local cleanup crew.

IN sweden its really good sure their are some few problems with waiting lines but in general its very good.

But then we have to pay a tax on 33% of our income.

Rip870

I pay 35% of my income to taxes (local, state and federal). :(

As a Canadian I have to say that medicare is really good. Been to the hostipal a few times and the most I waited was 45 min in the emergency room. Some people might wait more, or less, depending on the time of day or hospital. If it's bad, they will take you in right away though. My friend had a bad cut on his foreheadand was beeding quitea bit and they took him in right away.
As for major surgery, there is a waiting list, but it's not that bad. i often see reports on CNN about how long patientes in Canada have to wait for major surgery and laugh. Talk about exageration. But because we have public health, everyone gets the right to get surgery and therefore, people at the bottom of the list will often have to wait a few months. Mind you, this is for non-life threatening surgery. If you really require surgery right away, you will most defenetelly get it.Actually, I just watched Sicko 2 days ago and was really shocked at what people in the US have to go through. I never really thought about medicare or heath issues before. Never had to, I guess...Styphelus

While Sicko has some good points, remember that it is a michael moore film and is designed to be inflammatory and one sided. he's going to paint as bleak of a picture as he can.

[QUOTE="Styphelus"]As a Canadian I have to say that medicare is really good. Been to the hostipal a few times and the most I waited was 45 min in the emergency room. Some people might wait more, or less, depending on the time of day or hospital. If it's bad, they will take you in right away though. My friend had a bad cut on his foreheadand was beeding quitea bit and they took him in right away.
As for major surgery, there is a waiting list, but it's not that bad. i often see reports on CNN about how long patientes in Canada have to wait for major surgery and laugh. Talk about exageration. But because we have public health, everyone gets the right to get surgery and therefore, people at the bottom of the list will often have to wait a few months. Mind you, this is for non-life threatening surgery. If you really require surgery right away, you will most defenetelly get it.Actually, I just watched Sicko 2 days ago and was really shocked at what people in the US have to go through. I never really thought about medicare or heath issues before. Never had to, I guess...sonicare

While Sicko has some good points, remember that it is a michael moore film and is designed to be inflammatory and one sided. he's going to paint as bleak of a picture as he can.

I wont disagree that he is trying to make a point (obvious bias), but I have read many articles by many different sources stating the numbers he state in his movie are accurate.

Canadians have to wait for major surgery most of the time which sucks. Other than that, it's alright.

The simple problem about "free" healthcare is the waiting times for emergency room services. If you had, for an example, extremely sore fingers day after day and you had no idea what was causing it... you might resort to the internet or a health book to see what the causes might be. Typically, they explain it to you, but they have to say "see your doctor" at the end because they can't give you a difinitive answer.

The problem here in Canada is that you can't just go "see your doctor". With family doctors, you make an appointment and they try to get you in as quickly as possible. This is usually a couple of weeks. If it's something minor, then that's no problem. But if it's something such as a sore hand, and it is interfering with your work, then you can't wait that long. You have to go to the ER, even though it's not an emergency. This leads to extremely long wait times at hospitals here because people who are in an ER mostly don't have emergencies, they are just things that can't wait 3 weeks to be treated by your family doctor. If there was a "middle-man" then that would be great, which is why a two-tier system has been suggested for a couple of years know where if you have the money, and it's not an emergency but it needs to be looked, then you would pay to have it checked

SPHYNXA

I'm from Canada as well, but have never had the kind of waits you described. Any time I've needed to go to the family doctor, it's been a maximum 3 day wait. And for the sore hand example, why not go to a walk-in clinic? You'll have about a 45 minute wait, but you'll get same day treatment without needing to go to the emergency room.

The first 3 times I dislocated my shoulder, I had to go to the hospital to get it put back in place. The last time, my doctor showed me how to put it back in myself so I wouldn't need to go back. Anyways, I waited about half an hour each time.

Surgeries aren't even too bad if you are flexible in your scheduling. It's generally about a 6 month wait (depending on the surgery), but often times they will call within a couple weeks to fill a cancellation for the following day.

So in the end, I have no problems with it whatsoever. I think it is generally a good system.

The NHS (national health service) is pretty woeful in terms of waiting list, especially over here in wales, we have the longest NHS waiting lists in the UK.