Canadians come to the US for healthcare

Discussion in 'Off-Topic' started by BurnPyro, Oct 8, 2017.

  1. nepyonisdead

    nepyonisdead I need me some PIE!

    Oh sorry I didn't mean to say it was my opinion this is the ethics law of practicing medicine So if you break it you lose your lisence

    It's not my point of view personally since I agree a lot with what you said and having a bad prognosis and quality of life with a huge debt to pay back can certainly be not the thing many patients would prefer

    But the doctors law doesn't take into account and basically says you have to save anyone who can't say no to whatever you are about to do
     
  2. Geressen

    Geressen Forum Royalty

    I didn't think it was your point of view just the US medical ethics/doctors but that was too long to write so I just used "you words" by which I meant just the words you posted. I should have been more clear.
     
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  3. Kendoshi

    Kendoshi I need me some PIE!

    Edit: Wrote a bunch of horseshit.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2017
  4. davre

    davre The Benevolent Technofascist

    Nepy isn't American.
     
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  5. Kendoshi

    Kendoshi I need me some PIE!

    I apologize. I glanced quickly over what he wrote and assumed the typical 'merica talk I've seen a lot lately. My bad, sorry.
     
  6. davre

    davre The Benevolent Technofascist

    glad u understand how hurtful those comments can be :p
     
  7. Kendoshi

    Kendoshi I need me some PIE!

    Yeah, should focus on happier things. Cheers!
     
  8. nepyonisdead

    nepyonisdead I need me some PIE!

    No apologies needed buddy, have a good day / evening
     
  9. darklord48

    darklord48 Forum Royalty

    Oddly there is a discount for people that are uninsured. Hospitals bill higher dollar amounts to insurance companies. Also insurance companies negotiate rates with hospitals. Hospitals that won't lower their prices enough for an insurance company get assigned to the "out of network" pool which costs the patient more.
     
  10. super71

    super71 I need me some PIE!

    Even people that are American agree americas healthcare system is broken
     
  11. iPox

    iPox Forum Royalty

    Not sure what facts the "US has the best medical capabilities" claim is based on; sounds made up and typical 'Murica talk we have here all the time.
    Regardless: To my knowledge, there seems to be a very high variance in the quality of medical treatments depending on which hospital you get.
    Should I get seriously ill, I'll get to go the University Hospital nearby, which is said to be world class in some specific areas and at least very good in everything else. A few kilometers south, people would go to a regional hospital which is rather mediocre. I would assume there is a high variance in quality everywhere.
    Which induces the problem of a metric: If the quality of medical treatment is not measurable by a number n, but by an interval [m, n], which finitary relation would you chose to compare those?
    I.e., a strong relation would be [m, n] >* [p, q] if m > q; but is [m, n] > [p, q] if (m+n) > (p+q); or is [m, n] > [p, q] if n > q or ... ? Until stronger arguments, I assume this is just another of those 'Murica boast threads.

    To the issue on U.S. healthcare. My (very limited!) understanding of the problem is the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry. Where I live, insurance companies dictate the upper limit of how much pharmaceuticals may cost, whereas in the United States, pharmaceutical industries may charge whatever they like. This has its merits (free market), but this seems to result in very high treatment costs in the US. It's most likely not the only problem, so I wonder if any of you have more information about this.
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2017
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  12. MaruXV

    MaruXV Corgi Lord of FW

    completely free health care and completely free and compulsory same level education up to college for everybody should be the base. until we understand this, we cannot evolve further. oh, and stop caring of arcaic
    superstitions like religions.
     
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  13. JazzMan1221

    JazzMan1221 Better-Known Member

    That sounds like Commie talk, are you trying to take my guns away????
     
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  14. MaruXV

    MaruXV Corgi Lord of FW

    no, health and education are priorities, so while we get to that you guys can continue to shoot yourselves ;) then we'll get to your guns.
     
  15. nepyonisdead

    nepyonisdead I need me some PIE!

    This should be in the constitution of all countries
     
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  16. Sokolov

    Sokolov The One True Cactuar Octopi

    I am Canadian who now lives in the US.

    So I can tell you first hand what the difference is, anecdotally.

    ~

    In most of Canada, you can see a doctor for routine care same day without an appointment. Got a cold? Just walk right into the local "Walk In Clinic." Of course, this isn't valid in more rural areas or something like Nunavut. You always know how much it'll cost: $0.

    In the US, you have to make an appointment and hope they can see you soon. Depending on where you are, this could be awhile. If it's the weekend, then you are stuck going to urgent care or the ER, or suffering til Monday at least. You also don't necessarily know how much it'll cost.

    Seeing specialists there's a wait in both countries, in Canada it's typically longer, but even in the US it can be weeks or months, depending on what you need. In the US, my wife needed to see an ENT and it was 2 weeks before they could even talk to her about scheduling, and then the appointment was another 3 weeks out.

    Yes, it's true that some people in Canada will go to the US for some procedures (that said, I personally know exactly 0 people who have done this), but people in the US also go to other countries for some procedures. But the anti-single payer narrative in the US will focus on the Canadian ones. I honestly don't know what % of people this ultimately represents or what a good way to measure frequency is because you have to factor in need and ability as well (i.e. 5 out of 10 people doing it is different than 5 out of 200, even if the absolute number is equal at 5).
     
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  17. Geressen

    Geressen Forum Royalty

    Question: If someone has to go to the US for certain necesary treatment they do not do in a Canadian hospital but Canada is guarenteed to pay the bill wouldn't servicing Canadians be more lucrative for a US hospital?
     
  18. Sokolov

    Sokolov The One True Cactuar Octopi

    That's not how it works. Canada typically doesn't pay if you go outside of the system to get care, but there are some circumstances where it would be. But it's not the "normal" thing.

    And if it is covered, it is covered at specific rates, not whatever the US places wants.
     
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  19. Geressen

    Geressen Forum Royalty

    yes and the specific rates must have been bargained for.
    which means it is likely closer to the actual cost than they want.
     
  20. Sokolov

    Sokolov The One True Cactuar Octopi

    http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/ohip/outofcountry/travellers.aspx

    "The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) only covers emergency health services at very limited rates. For example, an outpatient visit to a U.S. emergency room may cost thousands of dollars for the duration of your care, however OHIP will only reimburse up to a total of $50.00 CDN per day for this service regardless of the severity of the situation. If you plan to travel outside of Ontario, it is strongly recommended that you obtain additional private medical insurance and fully understand what your policy covers."
     
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