The Canadian Healthcare System: An open letter to Americans and their government.

Watching the news and listening to the debate on healthcare reform in America I would like to clear up some myths that seem to be floating around.

Wait Times:

I am not sure where this arose from, but there really are no long waits to get care. If you have the minor sniffles and pains we have many privately run clinics that you can go to, and these are still covered under our system.

If you go to an emergency room, you will encounter the same thing as one in America, long wait for the sniffles because the guy with the heart attack has higher priority.

Cost:

The taxpaying public pays for healthcare and it is all based off how much you make. People with low to no income don't pay any monthly rate. Once you make enough money then you start to pay, simple as that. Everyone pays and everyone gets equal coverage.

Pre-existing Conditions:

This is the best part about ours and other government run systems, no pre-existing conditions clause. You can have cancer one day and the sniffles the next. It is in no way going to affect your coverage or cause you to pay more.

Prescriptions:

This one is a little odd. If you are admitted to a hospital, all drugs are covered under your medical plan, however if not, then you have to pay. This is one place that we do have a private insurer. However if you are low income, you can get coverage from the government system. The private insurer in Canada can not determine any pre-existing conditions as well and the coverage is usually under $30CAD a month. This usually gets you some travel insurance as well.

So call it a socialist system, but it works, for the most part. Everyone gets care, no one is turned away because they don't have insurance. You can get help for minor things that could lead to bigger issues down the road. Prevention is always a priority in our system as this keeps costs down in the long run.

Healthcare, as far as I am concerned, is a right for every human.