It's just one thing after another.

[Mark in Ottawa]

The big problem with the Canadian medical system is that if it is not an emergency situation, it can be a long wait for a CT scan or an MRI. On the other hand, my wife was diagnosed with a serious problem and in a two week period had a CT scan, an MRI, another type of scan that I had never heard of and whose name I can't remember, a biopsy and sessions with two different specialists. It was quickly determined that she would probably respond to a pill that had been introduced about 18 months ago but was not covered by the provinces pharmaceutical plan for seniors. The pill was approved on an exception basis within three days and she received her first box a couple of days later. In Canada, the pills cost $300 each and in the USA they are about $500 US dollars each and you have to take one per day. I had visions of standing on a street corner with a tin cup and a sign saying "will provide consulting services in exchange for drugs" but in fact we have not had to pay a cent. In my case, I have had three knee replacements and major back surgery. In total, my costs were about $100 and that was mostly for a TV and telephone which are not covered. Bottom line here is that we are all reasonably happy with the medical system.

[dryheat]

Thankfully, you didn't have to donate one of your legs to pay for medical costs. But having extra legs helps. Not everyone has that to fall back on. Medical care is an interesting subject. The financing of medical care is and interesting subject. We need doctors and they need to get paid. They need to get paid a lot. A friend of mine's wife nearly died from a bad tummy tuck(never be the first one to try something new). She got an infection from the surgery. Really sick. In the end it cost something like ONE MILLION DOLLARS! That was over twenty years ago. She lived and lost a lot of weight.