we visit Canada every year-
Our northern neighbor had a HEART ATTACK-
and needed EMERGENCY bypass (they were able to stabilize him)- guess what??- 6 month wait time! for surgery!
Was FORCED to not work- their recommendation-
GO TO THE U.S.A.!- ( but he would need to PAY!)
He could not afford it.. so waited for his 6 month
appointment- he made it AND is doing O.K.-
lucky I guess-
Each Province is different. Under the Canada Health Act, all Provinces are required to provide universal health care but what is covered in AB is different than what is covered in SK or ON. Each Province has different coverage so that if you need treatment in say, ON that isn’t covered by AB Health, you have to pay cash for the service. This explains why I’ve been told that even if I am visiting out-of-Province, let alone out-of-country, it is wise to have Blue Cross.
Apparently in QU, they will not accept any other Provincial Health Care coverage because Québec is Québec. Blue Cross is most definitely a requirement when visiting QU. Ah, the joys of two ‘nations’ living in one country!
If you can’t wait for covered services that have a long waiting period, and you have the $$$’s, you can jump the line. For some services that are covered by Health Care, there are private clinics that are user pay, for example ‘Gimbel Eye Centres’. Also, many well to do Canadians travel to the US for operations and treatments, including MANY Canadian politicians! My ex-wife’s aunt, married to a wealthy businessman, was able to get a hip replacement by going Stateside. The wait in AB was at least eight months, but on their regular winter vacation in AZ, she got it done. No muss, no fuss because they had the money to have it done.