I recently came across an
article on Macleans.ca entitled “Our Health Care Delusion” (dated January 2011)
that told the story of a 41 year-old man from West Kelowna, B.C. who, in
the throes of a mental breakdown, smashed through the Emergency Unit
of Kelowna General Hospital with his Chevy Blazer after waiting 90 minutes to see
a doctor. Apparently, he had been advised it would be a 45 minute wait which,
in truth, isn’t a long waiting time compared to today’s emergency room
standards. He snapped when his threats to drive his truck into the hospital if
he didn’t get treatment were dismissed by hospital staff.
Liberal
MP and medical doctor Keith Martin said “the sorry state of the nation’s
emergency wards is just one indicator of trouble today and trouble to come.”
Martin, a former family and emergency room doctor, experienced dire situations that
eventually prompted him to change professions and go into politics. He said most
patients have to endure long wait times for hip and knee replacement surgeries,
and others have to live with tumours that could grow into inoperable sizes
while waiting months for diagnostic scans. Martin pointed out that, “those are
the casualties of our health care system, and the casualties of the inaction of
modernizing the system, that people don’t talk about.”
In 2014, Canadian health care will
have to deal with the expiration of a 10-year health accord among the federal
government, provinces, and territories. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) believes
that changes to the Canada Health Act should include that Canadians pay small
fees or deductibles for using health services in order to discourage people
from overusing the system as most other OECD countries do.
Find out what your type of health
coverage your province offers.
If you’re
looking for a supplemental health insurance plan you’ll find it under group
insurance plans. This type of package covers members of a group and their
eligible dependents. Some employers provide a group health insurance plan as
part of an employee benefits program. Your eligibility would be determined by
whether or not you are a full time employee and on how long you’ve worked for
the company. In most cases, a worker must have been employed for at least one
to three months, and part timers are not usually eligible.
If you
don’t have a group insurance plan at work, you can purchase an individual insurance
plan. If you are part of an association
such as a university or CAA you may get exclusive rates not available to the
public by purchasing the plan sponsored by the association.
Remember,
when you are no longer an employee of the company, or you cease to be a part of
the association, you no longer have coverage.
