On Sun, 25 Feb 2007, Winsor Crosby wrote:
>
> That just conflicts with what I have read elsewhere. The immigration
> pages for Canada say that immigrants must buy private insurance and
> seek private treatment because they have not paid into the government
> system.
Anyone relocating to Canada, whether a citizen or a new immigrant, must
purchase health insurance for the first 60 days. After that the health
care system picks up all the costs. I believe the 60 day period is
waived for refuges.
> Elsewhere I have read several times that private health
> insurance and private doctors are available to anyone who wants to
> use them.
Technically all doctors are "private", they're just paid by the health
system. If you don't have a health card they charge you the standard
health care rate. Private hospitals are forbidden under the current
system so there's no way to bypass the queues.
> I just shake my head in wonder sometimes when I hear someone on the
> tube say how many Canadians comes to the US for medical treatment to
> avoid the wait. How many Canadians are rich enough to do that?
It's mostly the provincial governments sending patients to the US and
picking up the bills. The waiting times have become so long that it
is seriously affecting the health of people in some areas. Doctors
can apply to get permission to send patients to the US if they feel
their life is in danger. Sometimes people go on their own and later
apply to get the bills paid.
-mark
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