There is no hope left.

[John Mitchell]

3 hours ago, MandyD said:

I didn't even know it was an option until after. And $10K is still a very small price to pay given the damage it has caused, and far far less then I would be subjected to in the US. A friend in the US said I would have likely been looking at $300-$400K there easy for the same thing.

 

Interesting to hear that such an option exists. Even $10K would be an unmanageable amount of cash for me. Glad my free hip is working out (touch wood).

 

Have you tried physiotherapy? it can help with post-op problems.

[MandyD]

1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Interesting to hear that such an option exists. Even $10K would be an unmanageable amount of cash for me. Glad my free hip is working out (touch wood).

 

Have you tried physiotherapy? it can help with post-op problems.

Tons of physio. Because they waited too long I have had to have an additional 2 spine surgeries, my liver is shot from the meds and it impacts me daily....so it seems like a small price. I'm not saying our system is perfect but at least it affords you some choices...I have also had first rate care on other issues so just a system under stress in certain areas, but better then rolling the dice.

[John Mitchell]

15 hours ago, MandyD said:

Tons of physio. Because they waited too long I have had to have an additional 2 spine surgeries, my liver is shot from the meds and it impacts me daily....so it seems like a small price. I'm not saying our system is perfect but at least it affords you some choices...I have also had first rate care on other issues so just a system under stress in certain areas, but better then rolling the dice.

 

Not fun. How long did you have to wait?

 

Canada still seems to be doing quite well overall when it comes to healthcare, but something definitely needs to be done to shorten wait times for some types of operations.

 

 

[MandyD]

9 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Not fun. How long did you have to wait?

 

Canada still seems to be doing quite well overall when it comes to healthcare, but something definitely needs to be done to shorten wait times for some types of operations.

 

 

6 months..in that time I saw 11 doctors who just kept pushing pills at me, hence my destroyed liver...got to number 12 and well 8 of those doctors were called into a hearing 6 months after at his request. He's the Head of Orthopedic surgery here and the only reason I am still here. So yes, there are some gaps, but at the same time, this is the same system that saved my family when my Dad had cancer when I was a kid...so like anything, all depends on the inputs, I ran into doctors who did not understand the severity of the situation, I got my own MRI done as I could no longer wait and the second I showed doctor number 12 that, I was in the OR the next day. So, be your own advocate, but the thing is, should we have to be?

[spacecadet]

On 28/07/2018 at 22:00, JeffGreenberg said:

 

Is it?

Higher tax rates...?

VAT taxes...Not in US.

How much a lifetime of VAT?

 

Free at the point of use. Of course it's paid for out of taxation

Doesn't every US state have a purchase tax? That's all VAT is.

Your state spending as a proportion of GDP is a bit lower than the UK's- 38% against 41%, but then we spend half as much of our GDP on healthcare.

[John Mitchell]

36 minutes ago, MandyD said:

6 months..in that time I saw 11 doctors who just kept pushing pills at me, hence my destroyed liver...got to number 12 and well 8 of those doctors were called into a hearing 6 months after at his request. He's the Head of Orthopedic surgery here and the only reason I am still here. So yes, there are some gaps, but at the same time, this is the same system that saved my family when my Dad had cancer when I was a kid...so like anything, all depends on the inputs, I ran into doctors who did not understand the severity of the situation, I got my own MRI done as I could no longer wait and the second I showed doctor number 12 that, I was in the OR the next day. So, be your own advocate, but the thing is, should we have to be?

 

That's a horrific tale. Things like this shouldn't happen anywhere, but unfortunately they do. My family doctor, who otherwise is complimentary about our healthcare system, told me that his sister died of Cancer while waiting for an operation. However, she had had several previous ops. OTOH, I know people, including my wife, who have had necessary operations done right away with excellent results. Orthopedic surgeries seem to have the longest waits by far. They plied me with pain killers as well when I was in hospital earlier this year, but thankfully it was only for a couple of days. When I got home, I stuck with Tylenol. If I've damaged my liver, it was probably by other means.

[MandyD]

17 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

Free at the point of use. Of course it's paid for out of taxation

Doesn't every US state have a purchase tax? That's all VAT is.

Your state spending as a proportion of GDP is a bit lower than the UK's- 38% against 41%, but then we spend half as much of our GDP on healthcare.

need to think of it like you would an infrastructure project....your taxes pay for roads and bridges whether you use them or not, the stronger and healthier your population the stronger the economy...I took a course on this while undertaking my economics degree. Now we get into the argument of the individuals role and responsibility, etc, etc....no easy answers

[MandyD]

1 minute ago, John Mitchell said:

 

That's a horrific tale. Things like this shouldn't happen anywhere, but unfortunately they do. My family doctor, who otherwise is complimentary about our healthcare system, told me that his sister died of Cancer while waiting for an operation. However, she had had several previous ops. OTOH, I know people, including my wife, who have had necessary operations done right away with excellent results. Orthopedic surgeries seem to have the longest waits by far. They plied me with pain killers as well when I was in hospital earlier this year, but thankfully it was only for a couple of days. When I got home, I stuck with Tylenol. If I've damaged my liver, it was probably by other means.

I can no longer enjoy other means, my body doesn't metabolise anything properly now, so one sip and I am high as a kite...it's entertaining or so I am told. I tried to have tequila for the first time a couple weeks ago...friend had to take me for a 5km walk just to sober up and that was from 1 ounce...it's rather sad lol

[spacecadet]

8 minutes ago, MandyD said:

need to think of it like you would an infrastructure project....your taxes pay for roads and bridges whether you use them or not, the stronger and healthier your population the stronger the economy...I took a course on this while undertaking my economics degree. Now we get into the argument of the individuals role and responsibility, etc, etc....no easy answers

I do, I was replying to Jeff's suggestion that we paid more for our healthcare than Americans.

[MandyD]

1 minute ago, spacecadet said:

I do, I was replying to Jeff's suggestion that we paid more for our healthcare than Americans.

I know...I was agreeing with you...just giving context.

[Betty LaRue]

What is shameful here in the U.S. is the cost of medicine.  When I came off chemo and the prednisone used for chemo side effects, my arthritis roared back two or three times worse than it was before chemo. Through the years, every arthritis med I took gave me ulcers. And I’ve had arthritis since I was 23. Once 3 were nested in my stomach! If you think Ouch, you have it right.

After chemo, I found a rheumatologist who brilliantly put me on the only arthritis med that included stomach protection. 

The cost was high. Even with insurance. If not for insurance, I couldn’t have afforded it. I barely could as it was.  I paid it for years before I began ordering it from Canada. More pills for less money. I recently googled the med again and found out a generic has been available for several years! So I’m on the generic now, for much less. Right here in the U.S. No more waiting 2 weeks for Canadian meds while I wondered what I was doing was legal. (Still don’t know!)

 

What the pharmaceutical companies are doing to us here is robbery. Plain and simple. The pharms love the U.S.

Betty

[MandyD]

24 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

What is shameful here in the U.S. is the cost of medicine.  When I came off chemo and the prednisone used for chemo side effects, my arthritis roared back two or three times worse than it was before chemo. Through the years, every arthritis med I took gave me ulcers. And I’ve had arthritis since I was 23. Once 3 were nested in my stomach! If you think Ouch, you have it right.

After chemo, I found a rheumatologist who brilliantly put me on the only arthritis med that included stomach protection. 

The cost was high. Even with insurance. If not for insurance, I couldn’t have afforded it. I barely could as it was.  I paid it for years before I began ordering it from Canada. More pills for less money. I recently googled the med again and found out a generic has been available for several years! So I’m on the generic now, for much less. Right here in the U.S. No more waiting 2 weeks for Canadian meds while I wondered what I was doing was legal. (Still don’t know!)

 

What the pharmaceutical companies are doing to us here is robbery. Plain and simple. The pharms love the U.S.

Betty

ya, that's not right...my cost would be $3.30 per prescription. My parents would paid $0. Right now I am fighting with our provincial health to pay for the steroids my liver needs as a result of my delayed surgery...if it's a chemical compound with no Drug ID, it's my cost...so that's out of pocket and it's adding up but it's more of an inconvenience then a financial hardship.