Thousands are getting faster care and relief — but are paying large amounts for the privilege
While Canada’s healthcare system provides coverage for medically necessary treatment, many procedures entail long waiting times — which is pushing thousands of Canadians to seek care on their own.
“In 2014, more than 50,000 Canadians left the country for medical treatment, a 25% increase from the previous year,” said a recent report on Huffington Post Canada. “A similar number left the country for treatment in 2015.”
Citing a Frasier Institute study, the publication said that wait times in Canada had hit a twenty-year record high. Patients reported wait times of up to 20 weeks for medically necessary treatments, such as organ transplants and heart surgery. Experts chalked such times up to numerous factors, including miscommunications between different parts of government, a dearth of doctors, and an aging population.
Since the system covers only necessary procedures, patients looking for cosmetic and most dental treatments can’t rely on public coverage. “Canadians may pay for services out of the country that are considered not ‘necessary’ or that are still experimental or ‘unproven,’” said Dr. Bernard M. Dickens, professor emeritus of health law and policy at the University of Toronto.
Canada’s universal system also doesn’t always provide the best care. Aside from the long wait times, there are also a limited number of specialists available.
“Everyone has access to free medical care that is ‘good enough.’ If you want to pay for better health care, you can’t,” said Dr. Mathew A. Plant, a Toronto-based plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgeon. “That’s why those who can afford to, tend to go down to the US for care if they have anything serious happen to them.”
And that care is far from free. Angela Bugera, the owner of an art gallery in Alberta, paid a total of $25,000 to get treatment for hip replacement surgery in the Cayman Islands back in 2015; the medical expenses alone were $18,000. She chose that over waiting for “at least one more year” in the Canadian system.
Sue Morin, an administrative assistant from Ottawa, started experiencing pain in 2002. When Canadian doctors just focused on treating her symptoms with pain medication, she decided to pay $10,000 to go to the Mayo Clinic in the US. After a battery of tests, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and provided with a treatment plan, which was followed in Canada under her prepaid provincial health care coverage.
Plant, along with many other doctors, believes in the ideal of free health care, but says they have to face reality: the system isn’t perfect. With the gaps in the system, many Canadians are seeking treatment outside the country, paying thousands of dollars — and afterward, according to the doctor, wondering why they didn’t do it sooner.
Related stories:
More than 45,000 Canadians sought healthcare outside the country last year
Winnipeg ER wait times are the longest in Canada, says CIHI
“In 2014, more than 50,000 Canadians left the country for medical treatment, a 25% increase from the previous year,” said a recent report on Huffington Post Canada. “A similar number left the country for treatment in 2015.”
Citing a Frasier Institute study, the publication said that wait times in Canada had hit a twenty-year record high. Patients reported wait times of up to 20 weeks for medically necessary treatments, such as organ transplants and heart surgery. Experts chalked such times up to numerous factors, including miscommunications between different parts of government, a dearth of doctors, and an aging population.
Since the system covers only necessary procedures, patients looking for cosmetic and most dental treatments can’t rely on public coverage. “Canadians may pay for services out of the country that are considered not ‘necessary’ or that are still experimental or ‘unproven,’” said Dr. Bernard M. Dickens, professor emeritus of health law and policy at the University of Toronto.
Canada’s universal system also doesn’t always provide the best care. Aside from the long wait times, there are also a limited number of specialists available.
“Everyone has access to free medical care that is ‘good enough.’ If you want to pay for better health care, you can’t,” said Dr. Mathew A. Plant, a Toronto-based plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgeon. “That’s why those who can afford to, tend to go down to the US for care if they have anything serious happen to them.”
And that care is far from free. Angela Bugera, the owner of an art gallery in Alberta, paid a total of $25,000 to get treatment for hip replacement surgery in the Cayman Islands back in 2015; the medical expenses alone were $18,000. She chose that over waiting for “at least one more year” in the Canadian system.
Sue Morin, an administrative assistant from Ottawa, started experiencing pain in 2002. When Canadian doctors just focused on treating her symptoms with pain medication, she decided to pay $10,000 to go to the Mayo Clinic in the US. After a battery of tests, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and provided with a treatment plan, which was followed in Canada under her prepaid provincial health care coverage.
Plant, along with many other doctors, believes in the ideal of free health care, but says they have to face reality: the system isn’t perfect. With the gaps in the system, many Canadians are seeking treatment outside the country, paying thousands of dollars — and afterward, according to the doctor, wondering why they didn’t do it sooner.
Related stories:
More than 45,000 Canadians sought healthcare outside the country last year
Winnipeg ER wait times are the longest in Canada, says CIHI
