I am not confused. I needed a checkup to get insurance a few years ago. I asked the DR before going in what it would cost. His office manager said $450, so of course they charged me $1300, then reduced it all the way down to $1100. Trust me with tests, anything close to a physical costs $1000 minimum.
This estimate is WAY too high... TOTAL taxes would be approximately 25%, not 25% spent on health care alone.
You're prolly right; I got my info second-hand from a disaffected Canadian. Still, doesn't 3 months sound like a long time anyway? If I'm worried, I want the damn thing right now! Anyway, American or Canadian, the wealthy are always first in line for everything.
It normally does not even take that long. The waiting lists are priority based so if there is a chance of something serious like cancer you should get a preference. If you don't trust your doctor and are still really worried that your appointment maybe too late you can call around and ask for cancellations. You will usually get your appointement within a couple of weeks. And here I am talking again about busy Vancouver. The situation was even better in Edmonton where I lived about 8 years ago - there were almost no wait times for anything. I'm with you on that one. Money sure can take you places and open some important doors. The great thing about Canada is that even the really poor people are not completely left behind when it comes to health care. It's very easy to hate the system when you are on the upswing in life but life often comes down to how we handle the downswing and if you can't even go to see a doctor everything becomes thousand times worse.
If you're worried? Classic case of the "oh noez my ankle hurtz I need MRI now" kind of crap that creates waiting lists in the first place.
Health Canada has strict restrictions on types of care that can be delivered at a "private" clinics. If the care is on the "covered" list, then no, a "private clinic" cannot treat you. Most of these types of businesses exist for care related to plastic surgery, abortions, dentists, eye care etc. I don't think there is a single private hospital in Canada that will do, for example, heart surgery. Although, most doctors do operate their own offices for checkups, prescriptions, initial diagnosis etc, but they have to use provincial institutions for procedures.
I am an immigrant from the Soviet Union (back when it was the USSR) who lived in Western Europe before moving the the United States. My mother's family is comprised of mostly doctors who practiced in the Soviet Union before moving to Canada and some who practice medicine in the United States. I was very sick while in Russia and Europe and have spent a lot of time in hospitals in the U.S., Europe and the Soviet Union. So, that's my perspective.
Spinn, A lot of that cost shenanigans is the insurance fraud issue I posted about. But, insurance in NY state will cost you $1,000 per month and still not cover the full cost of your physical. Currently, I'm in a state with far fewer mandates and I'm able to buy catastrophe insurance for about $200 and pay for the rest out of pocket. Much cheaper. Plus, the catastrophe insurance gets me price deals on all tests and stuff like that. Still, that that doctor sounds uber expensive. The most expensive doctor I've ever been to for a regular physical in NYC (I mention this because this is a high cost area) who did not take insurance of any kind was $350 - and she was unusually expensive.