17 Replies to “Worth Every Penny”

  1. In a related story … my hip replacement surgery went perfectly. I’m in no pain whatsoever and hope to be discharged today. I am covered by Medicare and a Medicare advantage plan. The estimated cost of my procedure was listed as: $147,000. My copay was $225.00. And I obtained my appointment with my brilliant surgeon who does at least 5 joint replacements per day in less than 2-weeks and my surgery within the month.

    Now tell me about how great the “free” government healthcare is in Canada … and how awful it is in America. I assume the cost of my surgery and my age would make me get a visit from the MAID ghouls.

    I’m doing great, and cannot wait for the healing to finish up. And yeah, I was walking the halls of the hospital 3-hours after my surgery.

    1. Kenji. I’m happy your surgery went well, and wish you a full and speedy recovery.

      But Medicare? Isn’t that a government program?

      Why didn’t you or your private health insurance pay for it?

      1. This is what I hate about Canadians and their perception of the American health care system. MEDICARE which is different from medicaid is the program of health insurance for those 65 and over which has part A and Part B. Part A is roughly for all surgical and in hospital expenses. Part B is supposed to cover doctors visits, diagnostic tests and so forth outside of hospital. To qualify for part A without a monthly fee you must have worked enough years and paid taxes into that system to have accumulated the credits required. If you have only worked part of the time you have to pay for all or part of Part A. The cost of Part A is about $550/month, with enough work credits you are not charged. It’s not free. You earned it by working by working full time for at least 10 years. Part B requires a monthly fee. It is presently $185 a month. If you get Part A you mustb also get Part B. Then there are additional optional extra insurance Part C, D, E ect that cover other things like prescription medicine. And (unlike the Canadian system) you can refuse or opt out if you want to make other arrangements.

        It might sound like a lot of think you need to pay up front $185 a month to have your senior insurance when you think about the Canadian “free” system. But consider how Americans pay far far less in taxes compared to Canadians AND there is competition for your medicare dollars in the system and stuff like waiting two years for a hip replacement or sitting in an ER with acute chest pain for hours until you drop dead before getting treatment just doesn’t happen. “Free” is worth exactly what you pay for. And MAiD is not an option in most states.

        1. “We have 4.2% of the world’s population. We buy 70% of the pharmaceutical drugs on earth.

          We spend 2 to 3 times what other countries pay for health care and we have the worst health outcomes.

          We literally have the sickest population in the world.”

          RFK Jr. US Health and Human Services Secretary commenting on the US health system.

          https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1890226131447791693

          1. I don’t disagree but that hardly makes the Canadian system better, unless you think no treatement and dying on a waiting list is better than ending up on a Big Pharma treadmill. The Big Pharma treadmill is not mandatory. You can step off that circus. You can’t step off a waitlist in Canada.

        2. Pretty much right on Burch. Part B is now $203/mo. and Medicare only pays 80% which is why I have a “high-deductible” (max. $2,900/yr) Medigap coverage which makes up the difference. That costs us each another $70.00/mo. And we need to have a Part D drug plan which costs us something like $7.00/mo. It covers most all the drugs we take at zero or low cost.

          I’m pretty well done with Medicare Advantage plans as each of the last two years, my Advantage Plans have QUIT my County for being too pricey. Three years of Medicare and three entirely different plans. Yes, quite annoying. Except I must agree, MY county IS a ridiculously expensive place to live.

    2. Congrats! Here in the frozen north a friend had to wait, if memory serves, more than a year
      for a hip replacement. At least it was ‘free’!

      1. My neighbour across the street waited two and half years. I was told at age 82 it’s not worth it to the system for me to have a knee replacement. The system needs to save knee replacements for younger healthy people who are working. I won’t benefit enough to make it worth it.

    4. You lucky SOB!!!

      I’m not going to comment on kanuckistan’s dismal health care.

      Congrats and heal well!!

    5. Excellent news, Kenji, just don’t get carried away. Give it a few days before you attempt serious tap-dancing. But otherwise, may you have a year of constant and ever-heartening improvement.

    6. Got mine replaced at the beginning of December.
      It was less than a 6 month process.
      I received excellent care.
      Happy recovery.

      1. I had my right hip done in 2017 … and know what to expect with recovery. It went fast and well then, and I expect no difference with the left hip. So far, so good.

    7. Kenji, so happy to hear all went well with your surgery and best wishes for your recovery.

      My BIL’s father (in Montréal) is still waiting for his triple bypass surgery. But he’s not in pain and he is stable (medications) so he is not a priority. Their words, not mine. Best, free healthcare our money can buy.

  3. If the Canadian government got rid of foreign aid, immigration welfare, corporate welfare, halved the consultant contracts and reduced the public employees back to pre-2015 levels then there would be no budget deficit. Getting rid of net zero, corruption and kickbacks would turn that balanced budget into a healthy surplus.

    Remember that it wasn’t that long ago that Canada ran budget surpluses and balanced budgets. Then look at where the costs have spiked since the Liberals took over running the Canadian economy (into the ground).

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