Re: Mental energy

FWIW, I like the concept of universal health care and from what I know Canada's 
is probably about the best system of that you could hope for.  But with that 
comes stuff that the rich and powerful won't go for here.  Based on my knowledge 
of my cousin who is a Dr. in Ontario - docs. in Canada do not make the same kind 
of money they do here - their income is more controlled.  You also have better 
malpractice laws which the trial lawyers in this country will never allow.

So we are stuck with exorbitant/rising costs and handouts for a portion of the 
population, which adds to costs, leaving the productive members of society 
footing the bill.  


Mike F.  




________________________________
From: Peter T. Chattaway <petert-LOVM4QxV+tDq6eQxt3vRmLDks+cytr/[email protected]>
To: DADL (off topic) <[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, June 8, 2011 11:58:03 AM
Subject: Re: [DADL-OT] Mental energy

On Wed, 8 Jun 2011, Mike Findlay wrote:
> I think walk in clinics are set up for exactly that kind of thing.  And in 
>Canada you're health care isn't really "free" is it?  Isn't there a deduction 
>taken out of your check?  When I worked in Ontario, a long time ago, I remember 
>an OHIP deduction.

Healthcare is managed by the provinces, so it varies from region to region.  
Here in BC, I believe you do pay into the Medical Services Plan, but only if 
your income is above a certain level; before I got married, I was a few years 
behind in filing my tax returns, and when I did get caught up with that, I got a 
hefty refund from the Medical Services Plan because it turned out that, as a 
freelance self-employed writer, I simply wasn't making enough money to warrant 
paying the MSP fee (at least not fully).

In fact, I can't remember the last time I paid the fee -- but then, I've been a 
full-time stay-at-home dad for a couple years now, and before that, my income 
had taken a significant hit from all the daddying anyway.

There is probably some sort of MSP amount deducted from my wife's paycheque -- 
plus, because her job is unionized, she pays into a health insurance plan for 
extended health and dental benefits, which came in very handy when our boy 
needed a psychological assessment so that he could be officially diagnosed as 
autistic (we could have waited for the free, "public" assessment, but the 
waiting list was a year long, so we "jumped the queue" and got a "private" 
assessment, which was faster).

But each member of our family, including each of our kids, has a "CareCard 
number" provided by the provincial government, so whenever we have taken our 
kids to the pediatrician or the emergency ward, etc., it is *their* number that 
is processed, *not* mine or my wife's, and I don't believe we have ever had to 
pay for their appointments.  I guess the kids, like me, don't make enough money 
to warrant paying into the program.  :)

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