There’s been privatized healthcare in Alberta for quite a while already. There’s also privatized insurance and somewhere around the 70-75% mark of health care services are ran by private firms although they abide by provincial and federal guidelines and regulations. While I don’t support privatized healthcare my confidence in socialized healthcare has been shaken the last few years. In the last 5 years there have been 7 people in my little circle of people I know personally who have went to other countries for care because they couldn’t afford to wait the 6 months to 2 year wait.
Most recently my father. Was in dire need of a hip replacement, a month maybe 2 from being in a wheelchair which would leave him unable to work as he runs a business in the oil patch in Saskatchewan. With an estimated 9 months left, we as a family decided he’s going to Mexico. We got the money together and he had a new hip 6 days later. 6 days. Yes, it costed $30,000US(45,000US for private in canada and estimated 75,000 in the states) for the hip surgery and a 2 week all inclusive for recovery before flying back home. But it was done in less than a week. Canada is ranked last place out of all the socialized healthcare countries for wait times.
Friend took his kid to the Stollery here in Edmonton a couple months ago with a broken arm, 12 hours before a doctor looked at him. I just don’t know anymore. While I don’t agree with anything this new cunt of a premier says, private existed long before her.
Oh, an important edit. The 45000$US estimate for Canada was a private clinic in Montreal, so it’s not just Alberta. Just wanted to clarify that since people generally love shitting on Alberta for… Anything.
I don’t disagree. It’s why I don’t support private even if I did put money into it with dad’s situation out of desperation. I support socialized because it makes the most sense from top to bottom and I hope it can be fixed.