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Alberta’s health care system struggling with overflowing hospitals
(www.theglobeandmail.com)
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this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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And they want to privatize it such that you need to PAY for the privilege of having said healthcare. They’ve taken a hard look at the American for-profit model, and have realized just how profitable holding people’s health and life in ransom for their money can be.
With or without any wealth, you will still get processed by the current system. And with the way we triage, a billionaire with the same medical issue could be right after you, and you would still get processed before them regardless of how poor you are.
In a for-profit system, you’ll only get processed if you can pay. Can’t pay? Go die in the gutter outside like the freeloading scum you are. Your ability to be treated and the speed at wich you will be processed rests entirely on how much money you can throw at them. With a large enough donation, you could even get a stubbed toe moved to the head of the triage line, ahead of people on the threshold of death who will die without immediate attention.
The American system is great if you have money. A lot of money. If you are poor then it is more a "Sucks to be you" system than a Medical System.
A couple of years ago I was paying us$700/month for medical insurance for my family, and it sucked. Deductibles meant that I still had to pay a couple thousand dollars for my wife's surgery and any visit to be seen cost a us$35 copayment. Just to be seen, not for any medication or treatment. To top it off, you have to fight the insurance company to get them to actually cover anything, and who work their asses off not to pay out. It is also always possible that your local medical facility wont take your insurance so you still end up paying out of pocket, assuming that you actually can.
Imagine being rushed to hospital only to find out that none of the treatment that they gave you is covered by your expensive insurance because the ambulance company does not accept your insurance and the doctors, nurses, anaesthetists etc are out of your network. Lot of Americans do not have to imagine that because it happens every day. Canada's system may be flawed but it can get worse. Much much worse.
You say "not rich" funny.
The cost of healthcare - acute and preventative - was a major factor in my decision to cut short my stay there after 5 years and abandon my green card options. I was working in I-T for a great company with what I was told by a work-chum was a great medical plan; so I was up there for earnings among the 99%. Top-ten, maybe top-5%.
Fuck no. I can't hinge my future on ensuring I don't get taken to the wrong hospital by an ambulance.