I do understand how their system works, having lived there the last two years and researched it avidly due to what's happening in the USA. Everything you say is correct. The anecdotal evidence is, well, awesome for you and your family. My experience varied. Earlier I tried to provide actual statistics from the provincial government.
I still say it's not responsive to consumers. The provincial government of Alberta recently closed an imaging center in Cochrane that performed 8000 procedures a year and told all those people to drive to Calgary for service, despite fervent public outcry and already long waits for MRIs, mammograms, etc. Why? Because Stelmach & company are too stupid to charge a proper premium to cover the costs of providing acceptable levels of service.
Do YOU not understand how the laws of supply and demand work? When there's a shortage of something, the price is SUPPOSED to rise, thus encouraging more supply and less demand. When the government artificially suppresses the proper price of something, it results in worse shortages. Why are hospitals at 97% of capacity and yet being cut in Alberta? Why are vital supplies hard to come by? Why are ER waits interminable? Why are 7 million people unable to find a family doctor? Does any of this indicate that the system is responsive to consumers?
In fact, the system is deliberately rigged to discourage consumers. In another link I provided above, it's stated that they deliberately limited the number of medical school graduates in order to keep referrals for expensive procedures down. WTF?
Let me ask you, what incentive does the province have to buy another MRI machine or build more hospital rooms? If they spend more money, can they collect more money? NO. The income side of the equation never changes, because you can't charge more for better service. Therefore, you never get better service. In fact, you can save money by making service worse and worse over time. THIS is what drives single-payer economics.
Not to mention, if you don't like the system, not only is the only alternative leaving the province or the country, but there is practically no accountability through the courts. When you sue for malpractice, etc., you're put through the wringer by the government and spat out the other side. Very few lawsuits are filed because lawyers won't take them due to the dismal win record.
Oh, and you can't go to ANY doctor without permission, as you claim. If you want to go to a specialist, you've got to go through the primary care doctor. And if he/she doesn't refer you, well, I guess you can go to another, and another ... or just come to the USA where, for the moment, we still have true freedom of choice.
no subject
I still say it's not responsive to consumers. The provincial government of Alberta recently closed an imaging center in Cochrane that performed 8000 procedures a year and told all those people to drive to Calgary for service, despite fervent public outcry and already long waits for MRIs, mammograms, etc. Why? Because Stelmach & company are too stupid to charge a proper premium to cover the costs of providing acceptable levels of service.
Do YOU not understand how the laws of supply and demand work? When there's a shortage of something, the price is SUPPOSED to rise, thus encouraging more supply and less demand. When the government artificially suppresses the proper price of something, it results in worse shortages. Why are hospitals at 97% of capacity and yet being cut in Alberta? Why are vital supplies hard to come by? Why are ER waits interminable? Why are 7 million people unable to find a family doctor? Does any of this indicate that the system is responsive to consumers?
In fact, the system is deliberately rigged to discourage consumers. In another link I provided above, it's stated that they deliberately limited the number of medical school graduates in order to keep referrals for expensive procedures down. WTF?
Let me ask you, what incentive does the province have to buy another MRI machine or build more hospital rooms? If they spend more money, can they collect more money? NO. The income side of the equation never changes, because you can't charge more for better service. Therefore, you never get better service. In fact, you can save money by making service worse and worse over time. THIS is what drives single-payer economics.
Not to mention, if you don't like the system, not only is the only alternative leaving the province or the country, but there is practically no accountability through the courts. When you sue for malpractice, etc., you're put through the wringer by the government and spat out the other side. Very few lawsuits are filed because lawyers won't take them due to the dismal win record.
Oh, and you can't go to ANY doctor without permission, as you claim. If you want to go to a specialist, you've got to go through the primary care doctor. And if he/she doesn't refer you, well, I guess you can go to another, and another ... or just come to the USA where, for the moment, we still have true freedom of choice.