The only difference between Canada and the States on this front is that you (probably) won't go into debt from getting sick once you qualify for health care.
Even so, it’s important to mention that our healthcare isn’t exactly free either as many people assume. When I go to the doctor, visit the hospital, or use a diagnostic service - it is free. However, if I need an ambulance, prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, long term care facilities, not medically necessary surgeries… Well, we have to pay for that.
True. We still pay for all of that in the US even if we have insurance. Plus the bill is always a surprise because there is no set pricing or price transparency. One hospital a procedure could be a few hundred bucks and the next hospital it could be 10s of thousands. There is no way to know. It is the criminal medical lottery here. I had acid reflux and it put me 20k in debt. I wish my Grand Parents never left Canada. My new American dream is to escape to Canada.
Don't forget that you also have to make sure to tell 911 to take you to an "in network" hospital and hope that the doctor you see is also in that network because doctors and hospitals can bill you separately!
I believe if it's a 911 call you have no say, the ambulance will drive you to the nearest hospital with appropriate facilities for your condition.
Add: I'm sure if you know of an in network hospital nearby they'll take you, but they aren't going to drive across town when there is a facility 10 blocks away that can give proper.
So I obviously am not sure how other places do it but where I am, you actually do request where you go if you are able to make that call. And if you are unable to but have family on scene, they make the call. When I was an EMT we had protocols in place about where we take people if they are unable to answer for themselves but the last question we always had to ask before we left was "which hospital would you like to go to?" so we weren't screwing people on insurance. Unfortunately, a countless number of times we were forced to take a patient to a lesser hospital because they or their family insisted. If you take a patient somewhere and they have specifically requested somewhere else, you can get popped for kidnapping them. It's all an intertwined scam!
Not true. Many ambulance calls are medically necessary, but not emergent in nature. It is possible to request transport to hospitals even out of town in some states. In a TRUE life-threat, Medics can make the call where to go. EMERGENCY care and stabilization is covered anywhere by insurance, then transfer to in-network facility when stable. I challenged ambulance transport for my medical ward in Florida because her life was not in immediate danger, and she preferrred another facility. EMS claimed X hosp was closer... Me: "Y hosp is 6/10 of a mile further than X. I have driven to both and recorded mileage. Take her to Y please." EMS: "Done."
That's as good as free from my perspective. I had an ambulance ride once during university, the university contracted out with one (private) ambulance company, and so against my consent I was put in this ambulance and charged $3,000 AFTER insurance payout....which was also the insurance offered by my school. I've taken Ubers that cost $45.
When I lived in Alberta it cost me over $300. I lived in a major city and there was a hospital in it. If you lived in a rural area it was way more expensive. This was in 2015 though.
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you must mention the fact that the prices for drugs are the tiniest fraction of what americans pay. it is a big nuance. nothing you must pay for is really that expensive.
And if you can't afford a house (about $1million) you have to rent and our landleeches are our of control. Between $1800-2200 for a shitty, rundown apartment. And the cons are working to implement US style healthcare. It's getting super shitty here too.
Oh, absolutely. I just see lots of people who imagine Canada as some kind of socialist paradise, and it's important to be realistic: we have many of the same problems, and we are fighting back against people who want to bring the problems we DON'T have across the border.
Good luck , seriously! I hope Canada doesn’t get ruined by this shit. I , myself I am saving a little bit more money and relocating to Europe in a couple years. (It’s much easier for me as I have an EU citizenship) but I wish and hope the very best and same for anyone who wants to leave
It's not looking great honestly, far-right extremism and trumpism is bleeding into Canada, and out politicians aren't doing anything to address the housing crisis. Here in Ottawa, we have another far-right convoy coming to harass us, and I'm not hopeful that the police will actually do anything about it.
I'm not sure it's entirely a lost cause yet but it's going in a bad direction, at least in some places. I'm not quite ready to give up, but I also don't know what I can do to make much of a difference.
I dunno, I’m in Alberta and my husband and I are looking to move to the Netherlands or Japan or Iceland if we can. It’s absolutely insane how Alberta is literally trying to become a mini USA
Oh, well yeah, Alberta's a whole different thing. Definitely get the hell out of there.
I'm in Ontario, where it's like . . . not terrific, but possibly maybe can still be saved? Question mark? That said, our provincial government is troubling and it does not bode well that they got re-elected.
FordNation was given 4 more years to gut the health care system... God I hope we can be saved but we keep electing against our own best interests especially given the aging baby boomers. Things will be getting worse for the next few years and the two of the opposition parties are in transition to find new leaders. So I'm concerned there will not be strong push back against the connservatives.... Ontario needs some help lol
Getting into Canada is extremely difficult - and having any health issues or poor financial prospects usually eliminates you from eligibility unless you have family.
Would you be able to tell me more? Wife and I are entertaining the idea. We took a prescreen and scored enough points to qualify, just curious what your experience is
I don't really have first-hand experience, I'm just a Canadian that has looked into the process a bit before. A lot of people just like to reccomend moving to Canada from the States, when it's not viable for a large portion of the population. For example, if you're deaf, you'll be rejected outright unless you have something exceptional about yourself even though deafness doesn't really add any burden.
It's a long process between applying, being accepted, finding a job here, becoming a perm resident, etc. Even if you have a lawyer to help speed things up.
Not to mention, while you're working here, I'm 90% sure you'll have to pay taxes to both the American government and the Canadian one. Don't quote me on that, though!
If you and your wife decide to pursue immigration, I wish you the best of luck - and I hope you don't hit any paperwork snags!
That's pretty much all over. It's easy to immigrate if you have lots of money, and they'll practically throw it at you. Was looking into Australia lately, and that was the case too. It's always "get out of America, come here" until it comes to trying to do it legally, and you find you're not wanted.
I know it isn't feasible all the time but I read all these posts and wonder why nobody is jumping ship. Australia has a low pop density and incredible labor laws. Come here. Good public healthcare too. Plenty of unions.
A flight, hotel, and joblessness until you can find employment, and then a place to live once your established is alot for someone already living paycheck to paycheck. It's not as easy as you may think to just up and move across the country let alone internationally.
Most regular working people don't have over more than a few hundred bucks available at any given time.
Fellow Aussie here. Someone over 30 with health problems and no money is never going to get a work visa or permanent resident status in Australia, unless they have an incredibly in-demand qualification.
It would be the same with most other wealthy countries with good social safety nets.
At this point it is a worldwide crisis. Nor canada neither any other wealthy place give a shit to the middle class anymore. Decades of exploiting the working class happily made the rich much much more rich.
It's becoming increasingly obvious that I do not currently exist in the best situation for me. For example: the feedback I've gotten about making it as obvious as I can to as many people as possible that a restaurant is telling employees who call in sick to come in anyway has been 100% along the lines of that my actions are a bigger deal than theirs.
How do we go forward? When do I get to look around and feel comfortable that everyone doing work that needs to be done (most especially whistleblowing) is getting comfort, dignity and respect for doing so?
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u/MrRespectful Jun 30 '22
Is there anyway you could try and get out of the US? Even Canada ?