Sun- Manitobans waiting for health care face costly choice
…last year in Manitoba, the median wait between referral from a family doctor to a specialist and receiving treatment was 37.9 weeks. This is substantially longer than the 10.5-week wait Manitobans experienced in 1993 when national wait time estimates were first measured.
What’s the alternative?
Unlike Canada, the majority of Swiss hospitals are private and they handled half of all hospitalizations in 2023. Patients in Switzerland are able to receive treatment in a hospital they choose, public or private. Similarly, Australian private hospitals handle the majority of non-emergency care and can serve as an alternative for Australians seeking more timely care.
Francisco- God forbid we even think of being like the unholy Swiss.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Switzerland
They say Obamakkare was fashioned after Canada’s PERFECT socialized medicine system. Well, it’s made medical premiums skyrocket in cost and medical care turn to crap. But … we’re giving Medicaid to illegal invaders for FREE!! Yeayyy … mutant queers from the 3rd world can get all their “transitioning” surgeries for FREE!
pffft. my very successful strategy has been to eschew risky behaviour, incl recreational drugs except a joint or no more that 2/day (and only if l havent used up that month’s allotment). furthermore no whatsits extreme sports ‘thrill seeking’. and l jealously protect the good health have been endowed with in other ways.
iow l minimize the occasions l ever *need* hoSPITal care.
Australia requires residents/citizens to pay taxes towards a “Universal Healthcare Program.” However, many residents subsidize this by getting insurance from a private carrier as well. THOSE, are the people who can use private medical facilities for treatment. Those who do not make this additional purchase are not entitled to treatment at private medical facilities. AND, if they were, and I spent the extra money to have private coverage and access to private facilities….I’d be very pissed if I had to wait ever an extra day for treatment because someone with “Universal Care” only wanted a shorter wait at my expense, while I’m being forced to pay taxes for that care.
Switzerland does NOT have “Universal Healthcare.” They have an requirement for everyone to be insured. That coverage is with a private non-profit carrier and, therefore allows the patient to seek private or public medical facilities.
Only North Korea and Cuba share in the Canadian model of public sector monopoly. All other countries allow parallel private systems with single payer government health care delivery. The politics of institutional and industrial scale envy, resentment, and hatred ensure it is not opened up as with the rest of the civilized world and as a result, no electable political party dares proposing such. There are a few “work arounds” to those who can afford it such as using private facilities outside your own province.
I’m sure this must be a mistake. Rob Canoe and his NDP gubmint ran and won the election promising to fix health care.
Juno News
“Gwyn Morgan writes, “Canada spends more on health care than almost any other country in the world and delivers some of the worst results.”
https://c2cjournal.ca/2025/08/dead-wait-canadas-fatal-obsession-with-public-health-care/
A shorter version of this is currently showing on the Juno News site today.
This article isn’t too long, a good summation of the problems, and keep in mind that as long as all aspects of healthcare in Canada are delivered by gov’t and with gov’t rules and the vast majority are unionized, there’s no way to blame it on anything else.
It isn’t the private sector to blame when 1000’s die on wait lists, and emergency rooms are filled to 200% capacity
What’s the issue?
Wabby is such a smiley guy. Don’t be a H8r. Everything goes better with socialism, right?
/sarc
I wonder if the wait time is the same across Canada. A friend of mine (in BC) has been waiting months just to have the first consult about getting a knee replacement (it hurts me to even watch her try to walk). A few months ago, she went to visit her mom in Tronna. Mom’s orthopedic surgeon was shocked and told my friend he could see her in 2 weeks. So she flew back out and had her consult. She could get a knee replacement in Tronna before she can even get a consult in BC. Why would that be? Is the Ontario government doing a better job? Do they have more doctors per capita? Or do the feds pour more money into vote-rich Tronna so the people there get better treatment and keep voting Liberal?
Wow.
Here in the US, I called my dad’s primary doc last week about a lingering problem with dad’s COPD, and a new hip pain from neuropathy. Non-emergency stuff, but bothersome.
He saw the pulmonologist three days later. Had a scan, got some meds.
We go to the neurologist next week.
In addition to Medicare coverage (which is about $135/mo), my parents pay an extra $100/mo to get expanded private coverage. That will be their total outlay for the primary doc and two specialists, all of whom he saw within days.
Y’all are being ripped off, and, worse, they’re lying to you about how bad everyone else has it.
Bad enough that they screwed up the medical industry, now they want to control dentistry. Might as well pull my teeth out now. Soup anyone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jSTiKHOFEI