Call a Canadian

Heck yes! I hope someone finds my 519 or 416, as a student of public health. I think this is an excellent idea.

What a great idea! Where will the results be compiled and shared?

Remember that site called Sorry Everybody? People in the US posted pictures of themselves and their families and pets with signs expressing their apologies for the election results and the Iraq war. Lots of Canandians, as well as people from all over the world, posted as well with words of support and encouragement for a better future for America. Maybe something like that could be done for single payer health care.

Brilliant idea!! I think our health care system is pretty darn good! My husband had 2 heart attacks, was in CICU for a week, had 3 or 4 procedures, you name it and we walked out of the hospital not owing one cent other than for the phone in his room (and that was only pennies). I wouldn't trade it for the world! He had absolutely first-class care!

I wonder what "call an Iraqi" would be like. "Hello... yes, I'm calling from the US... and I want to know how it feels for you to be liberated.... (click) Hello? Hello?"

That would be a great idea!
Anybody would do as long as he or she is 100 percent human!
=)

given that I am allergic to phone call and I dread having to answer a phone call for each US state, I'll post my experience here.

the reason why I need to visit a doctor once a year is to manage my hypothyroidism and the medication for it. For the past 4 years, I relied upon primary care physician in both university that I went to; I had very good services, especially in the first university.

Now that I moved and I took a sabbatical from studying, I need to locate a doctor. There are private practice clinic running under either the public health care system and these are full, period. There are also public health care and social services clinic which handle the overflow from the private clinics and I will apply for a doctor there. I have no experience with the public health care clinic and their doctor because I was in good health and I rarely ever needed a doctor before studying in an university (coincidence? ;).

hope that help.

My mother recently passed away from a massive stroke. She was conscious when the ambulance arrived but slipped into a coma shortly after and had a cardiac arrest at the ER. They resuscitated her. A scan showed a massive bleed. She was clearly beyond help, and yet since we had family coming in from all over the world, they were willing to keep her on life support, for something like 30 hours till we all got there. At one point I got worried that we were taking up the 'crash' room (don't know what you call it) of the ER, but the nurse said it was ok, even though the hospital was very busy.

The caveat is, perhaps the Canadians have a secret formula, cos this would not have happened in the UK with the NHS. She would have died in a guerney in a corridor.

I don't think it would have happened in the US either.

And, oh, the only thing we paid for, was the parking.

When I was 25, I came down with inflamatory bowel disease. Between infections and complications, I spent 3 months in the hospital, and the care I received was probably, at that time even, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps closing on a million, if I'd had to pay for it. In the US my parents entire savings and retirement would have been wiped out and they would have both had to go back to work. Or I would probably have died. Or both.

Yeah... single payor, so awful.

In comparison, my single encounter with ER in the US was stupendously expensive. I was skiing in Vail and started to have chest pains one evening. What I didn't know at the time, was that it was actually the altitude causing a sort of 'atypical' asthma attack, quite unlike what I'm used to. But I didn't know that, so I didn't use my inhaler, and it got worse and worse. My DH called 911 from the hotel, they sent the EMT, ambulance, everything. Anyway, I was at the ER for like 4 hours, X-ray, EKG, blood tests, oxygen, IV, etc, before they/we figured out what the real problem was. They discharged me with one steroid inhaler (in addition to my own).

Total cost? $6,000

Of course they did take my credit card, first thing. I don't know what they would have done without that.

Anecdote:A doctor I know says they often feel embarassed charging people from the US for services, but the people they charge often are grateful since the entire cost is lower than their co-pay to have the same thing done at home.

My parents would be so poor and debt-ridden it wouldn't even be funny. Who needs sucessful companies, though, right?

On my trip to the ER as an overanxious first year student at the University of Guelph, I didn't have my OHIP (Ontario health insurance) card with me. They looked at me anyways :) Called them the next day with my number and all was settled. Various family members have had surgery and haven't had anything bad to say about the system.

Now, as a master's student in public health in Melbourne, it is drilled into us over and over again about the importance of access to health care and its effect on the duration of an infection. Universal health care isn't perfect, but I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Just because universal health care works for canada, germany, switzerland etc. doesn't mean it will work for the u.s., since americans are a separate sub-species of human who are different from regular homo sapiens in many ways.

For proof simply plot any social metric which correlates on a national level with political system. The american value for that metric will diverge from the curve. This is because they are, literally, a different breed.

Or maybe just lying about what their political system really is.

Canadian healthcare has it's share of grievous problems too, BUT:
1) you will never lose your house because you developed cancer
2) you will never hang on to some horrible job you hate and/or work part time on weekends at Starbucks JUST to keep an insurance plan that requires a 5K deductible, endless copays and won't cover anything more urgent than a hangnail.
Hell, private insurance covers $600 per year in massage therapy from licensed practitioners!

Care for amputees does not end once the prosthesis is fit, and no one is sent out of an appointment because their 10 sessions are up. You may pay in time spent waiting, but you will be seen, examined and cared for. We have a GP shortage, the EMT's can't do trach's, start an IV or administer anything beyond aspirin (a heinous situation still being fought here in QC) and have exactly 30 min for lunch, and the ER's are full as a result of the GP shortage. We need nurses, the hosp admins don't want to pay for NP salaries, etc.... However we are lobbying for full lymphedema care for post breast cancer patients, car accident patients are covered, foreign & uninsured people are cared for, etc etc.
But, people can live here without fear of their health problems crippling their way of life.
I'm originally from the US, and while the US has great care, the best, bar none, it's not available to everyone. Too many people fall through the cracks, even paying through the nose for insurance guarantees you nothing. Go hold a bake sale to pay for chemo! The US system is being held hostage by 3rd party payers and ambulance chasing litigants- they will lunge after any easy dime they can make by exploiting the delicate intricacies of dynamic human health care.
Canada isn't perfect, but it sure is far, far more humane and socially minded than the US. Not as good as the Netherlands, but not nearly as bloodthirsty and selfish as the US>

I am always amazed at the American perspective in regards to Universal Health Care
I hear socialism, Big Government, Government's hands in your pocket, etc, paying higher taxes, etc
but I would rather any day pay more taxes and still have no second thoughts about going to the Hospital, going to the doctor , etc.
This is the time when I am truly happy to be living where I am, I have to admit.
Oh and the waiting times are often very much exaggerated..
all in all, it is not a perfect system but it is easier to live when you don't have to worry about health care being a commodity.

I have worked in both systems and universal health care works best. I know we have our problems in the UK, but if you look into it you will see that most of those are caused by encroaching privatisation. The powers that be know that it would be political suicide to do away with the NHS all in one go, so they privatise it 0.1% at a time, thus destroying the underlying ethos of universality, under the guise of 'modernisation'. Bed shortages are often due to PFI etc.

I certainly don't miss those ethical dilemmas we had, working in the US system. Here's your palliative care for your treatable heart problem sir, because you don't have insurance for a cardiac cath.

That's a great idea about people calling people direct - empowerment.

Ah, but without the inequalities of the American health care system, how well would television dramas like ER work? Run it with a nationalised health system and you end up with weak gruel such as the BBC's Casualty. Hardly any shouting.

Of course, one could make an argument that the quality of television plots is not an adequate yardstick for a health system. What I say is "CBC! Chem 7! Lytes! Type and cross for 4! He's in v-fib! Bag him! On my count!". Of course, nobody's listening - but then they don't in ER - these are clearly just magic incantations.

On topic: yes, I think nationalised health care is a mark of a civilised society these days. It's about caring for all people, even those who aren't rich.

@Mo Falk: Most Americans (including myself) just don't think that way; it's a very different culture/mindset in Europe. I'm not a big fan of socialized/single payer health care. I'd rather have lower taxes -and a certainty that what the pharmaceutical industry's developing isn't determined by the government-.

The thing is, Big Business isn't *nice*, but businesses at least have much more incentive to be *efficient and effective* than governments.

The main problem with our system is the huge mass of frivolous/wrong lawsuits. If those (& the massive lawsuit insurance) were gotten rid of, things could be a lot cheaper without sacrificing quality.

sff: We see how efficient Big Businesses are every day. Some of the biggest are abysmal failures and without public money they'd be gone.

Less than 10% of lawsuits in civil court are tort suits of any kind. It is Big Business that clogs the courts with business cases against each other, many of which are frivolous "shakedown" cases. There is no evidence lawsuits contribute much to health care costs, particularly in comparison to the administrative expenses of your average insurance company whose Big Business incentive it is to deny coverage.

sff @17

I'd rather have lower taxes

What is often overlooked is the total cost of living. Look at the insurance premiums in the US and put that in the tax column, and having compared that to US friends, Canada comes out more than competitive.

Currently Canada delivers more bang for the buck, and within reasonable plus and minus, equivalent performance. In any system one can find a horror story, but they are not the everyday experience.

Two things I know. In my personal family situation,(I wish it never happened ) I would currently be uninsured, and gone bankrupt at least 3 times. Any American who I have prolonged contact with, I have âconvertedâ so let the phone ring.

sff: I'm a dual citizen, and made about $35k in Southern California become moving to New Brunswick Canada, where I found a job that paid identical wages (albeit in canadian dollars). I paid about $1200 more in taxes, but I paid $2300 less in annual HMO payments, for a net savings of about $90/month.

But wait, there's more! The NB health system is a much better value than that HMO, or even the PPO. No co-pay, no deductibles, and no lifetime maximums. No doctor network, either, so I could visit any doctor in the province, not just the ones on the Blue Cross network. Because the Canadian Government negotiates bulk purchases with the drug companies, pharmaceuticals are cheaper here, even without a group drug plan. Those savings mean that optional drug plans are also cheaper.

There's no need for a physical to start the plan, so you don't get turned down for pre-existing conditions, you keep the insurance for the same price when you lose or leave your job, and can keep that plan with any job you go to.

And finally, because the first obligation of the service is to provide health care, and not make a profit, you will never get a surprise bill the insurance company declines to pay. You never have to worry about a procedure being too expensive to afford, or declined as "Experimental". The cost, of course, is that service is not McDonald's instant like it was in the USA, but the triage system in place ensures that all people do get treated on the basis on need, not on the basis of whether they can afford it.

Still, perhaps hiding this value in income taxes is a bad idea for the US. Perhaps the best way to cover this is to hide the tax by cutting medicaid and medicare taxes completely, then billing people directly for the monthly health insurance payments like any other utility bill. Perhaps that way, people could view the savings without the stigma of "Tax".

Left_Wing_Fox @20

keep that plan with any job you go

if I could add, even if you move to the other side of the country, you just change Provincial plans.

Government negotiates bulk purchases

This is widely believed to be the case, but for patent medicines:

Going to try this again as I screwed up the quote; this looks OK in the preview. Please ignore 21.

Left_Wing_Fox @20

keep that plan with any job you go

if I could add, even if you move to the other side of the country, you just change Provincial plans.

Government negotiates bulk purchases

This is widely believed to be the case, but for patent medicines:
âTo determine if the price of a patented drug sold in Canada is excessive, the PMPRB (Patented Medicine Prices Review Board ) applies factors set out in the Patent Act and in its price guidelines.
In summary:
â¢Most new patented drug prices are limited so that the cost of therapy is in the range of the cost of therapy for existing drugs sold in Canada used to treat the same disease;
â¢Breakthrough drug prices are limited to the median of the prices for the same drugs charged in other specified industrialized countries that are set out in the Patented Medicines Regulations (France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K. and the U.S.).
â¢Existing patented drug prices cannot increase by more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI);
â¢In addition, the Canadian prices of patented medicines can never be the highest in the world.
Public drug plans also play a role in drug pricing through the listing of drugs on their respective formularies for purposes of reimbursement.â
Source: PMPRB http://www.pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca/english/View.asp?x=272#12

I read some where that most of the world's health care dollars are spent in the US. Given that the US doesn't have average life expectancy to brag about, crappy social justice, and shitty ethics I don't see how this state of affairs can possibly be justified. If Americans are worried about their taxes they should turn to their brainless bloated 'justice' system and their fetish for poorly conceived foreign wars.

"I'd rather have ... a certainty that what the pharmaceutical industry's developing isn't determined by the government-."

Why? So the pharmacuetical industry can concentrate its research dollars on Viagara, botox, and direct to consumer advertising? Right...

MattK @23

most of the world's health care dollars are spent in the US

Per capita, not the balance of the world.

@17 & 23

certainty that what the pharmaceutical industry's developing isn't determined by the government

Is not now, and no matter the system, will not be. Pharmaceuticals do not begin and end in the US. The US is only a part, (significant, but still as a part) of overall operations of the large companies.

As for direct to consumer advertising, does boost sales, but in general is probably a bad idea. I am not aware of any drug that was developed exclusively for the US market.

"most of the world's health care dollars are spent in the US"

Per capita, not the balance of the world.

As I said, I couldn't remember where I read that. It seems like it is almost half rather than > half (military spending in the US is about half the world budget as well)

Oh, shit they speak French there. I don't know if I got an answering machine or an operator...
They also have angry hicks there that want to be taken "off the list"...
That's it I quit.

I grew up in Canada. The challenges to universal healthcare are ignorance of the alternatives, a vast geographical range and an aging population.
The system isn't truly 'universal' but it is the best I have had experience with. I lived overseas for 7 years and had given up my health care for tax reasons. It is the best part of being back home. I was ALWAYS nervous overseas [even with quite solid private health care providers from my employers].
Universal heath care is me, telling you, I care.

"Do people die on gurneys waiting for operations?"

Dead people won't be able to pick up the phone.

Biomed Tim: Depends who they are. Mary Baker Eddy supposedly has a phone in her Mausoleum. When I called it said the menu had changed and I should listen carefully and my call was important to her. I'm still on hold.

I am a US expat living in Canada for >30 years. I will never go back to the US and start to worry about health care ever again.

I was diagnosed with a form of glaucoma common in middle aged women. The ophthalmologist apologized that there were no spaces in his surgery the next day, but offered me a date within the week.

I was astonished that he could have such a short backlog while working within the system. I asked "Is it free?!". He responded "Not the parking."

We have insurance for semi-private rooms, drugs and dental bills. Oh--trips to the US, too.

But we do not ever need to worry about losing our coverage. And for that alone, I am proud to be a Canadian.

MattK @ 26

Thanks for the link as it was interesting to read about Cambodia being the highest spending in the developing world.

I tend to be somewhat forgiving about the costs in the US because the structure is so much different. For example, when labour is around 50% in the US for a hospital, which pay on the whole decent wages, compared to say China, it is a lot easier to look good in China. How many of us would accept wards? Many countries do as being normal, which is much cheaper to run, but they have equivalent cure rates. The whole issue is incredibly complex.

The key is to educate the US public that there are better ways, and other countries are doing reasonably well with their systems.

My Story, while not as extreme as some will give you a small taste of the Canadian Health care system.

Quite a few years ago now, I my wife, and my 2 year old son were "stationed" in Lafayette, La. for close to 4 months. My Son came down with a pretty bad cold, he was having a very hard time breathing and didn't have any sleep for at least 2 days, We decided to take him to the local Hospital for a look. We were seen right away, the Doctor gave him a bit of Oxygen, and a shot of Adrenalin. We went back to the Hotel and My son was able to get a full nights sleep and he was Cured.

For a Needle and a bit of O2 The Bill came to $750.00us! I had to charge it to my Visa card. When we got back to my home in NL, I went to the Medical Care Program office, filled a form and waited for my cheque. They called me and said they wouldn't pay for the shot, because Our ER would not have done that. I said, You should call the Doctor in La then. They did, and decided to pay me. in full. easy as that.

My Story.

PS: I am 50 yrs old now, and I have had a few procedures done, including one or two "Elective" things, I have yet to see a bill from the Health Care Corporation.

Damn I love Canada!

I'm a senior. I have lived in Mexico, where I had excellent health care. Access to the hospital of my choice, free care, courtesy. We had to buy meds, but they were cheap enough. Line-ups, sure, but that's a fact of life in overcrowded Mexico.

I live in Canada now, on a limited income. I have excellent health care. Access to the nearest hospital in an emergency, free care, short waits even for specialists, unrushed doctor appointments (as needed), courtesy, most meds covered. Ambulances come quickly, the ride is either covered or cheap, depending on income level.

I lived for a while in the US. Health care was almost nonexistent for the poor that I worked with. I remember driving from hospital to hospital with a choking infant in the back seat. The parents had brought her to me because the local clinic had refused them; they had no money, no coverage.

Paperwork was confusing and time-consuming. Everything - everything, even an extra aspirin - was charged for. And the prices were outrageous.

For my poor clients, the clinics they were sent to were worse, in terms of cleanliness and staffing, than anything I'd seen anywhere, and the wait times were prohibitive. Courtesy? What's that?

I'm not a big fan of socialized/single payer health care. I'd rather have lower taxes

I'm a single woman, 48, running my own business in Ontario. Last year I earned about $60,000 (well, after business expenses and other deductions, my total taxable income was about $51,000). The portion of my provincial taxes that went to my provincial health plan (OHIP) was about $600. Individuals with taxable income of at least $20,000 pay in the range of $300 to $900. In addition, Ontario employers pay about 1-2% of total payroll toward the provincial health plan, and some portion of federal taxes are distributed back to the provinces, who could use part of them for health care.

But I paid well under $1000 last year to get full medical coverage, including doctor visits, emergency and walk-in care, hospital stays and ambulance/paramedical service. There are no copays, no restrictions on doctors, and, most importantly, no restrictions because of pre-existing medical conditions. We pay according to taxable income, not according to how great a risk we're thought to be. A portion of my share goes to cover kids and the poor, and I'm very OK with that, too.

Dental, vision, physio and drugs aren't covered, although there is talk about covering dental in this province, but I have a great supplementary insurance plan that costs about another $1000 a year (which is COMPLETELY deductible, one reason why my taxable income was so low last year). I worked for other business for many years, and every one of those jobs included a very good to an excellent supplemental health plan.

Finally, I have had awesome surgical care in this province. When I was 15, I went to Sick Kids in Toronto to correct a severe spinal curvature. My parents didn't have to pay a cent beyond their tiny monthly premiums. I'd hate to think how things would have turned out for me without single payer health coverage. My mother grew up before we got universal health care, so she didn't have her spinal curvature corrected until she was in her 50s. She was severely hunchbacked and in mediocre health before surgery, and she took a year to recover with complications and further years of pain until her death from cancer. (The cancer was caught very late -- 10 days before she died -- just because she was so used to living in pain that she thought the extra pain of the cancer was just more of the same.)

Americans like to say they have the best health care in the world. But their life expectancy is significantly lower than Canada and other countries.

I am fighting with my insurance company to pay a $1200 charge for outpatient surgery at a hospital. The doctor is covered and in the plan, but the "place" the doctor works, a clinic, is not. If it had been done overnight in the hospital (same building), not the clinic floor, it would have been covered. I called first and was told it was covered. I have no policy info to even know that my plan does not cover clinics. Best yet, the insurance company "parent" that processes the claim will not talk to me. How anyone can defend this system is beyond me.

I think it's a fabulous idea, but I think it would have to be VERY well-publicized in Canada for it to work.
After all, what happens when the phone rings, with a number you don't recognize, you pick it up, and the voice on the other end says "Hi! You don't know me, but I'd like to ask you a few questions!" You figure it's a telemarketer and hang up. A lot of people dislike ANY unsolicited calls, even if they're non-commercial. Perhaps the best way to do it would be to have a "Call a Canadian" day or week, where they're expecting massive numbers of calls from strange americans asking them personal questions.

We cover our entire country with a healthcare industry that costs us roughly half what Americans pay for theirs. If we paid what Americans pay, we'd probably eliminate most of the horror stories, too.

In Canada do people pay health insurance premiums? Here in Japan we pay from $350 to $500 a month, but since (virtually) everybody pays it, it's often lumped in with other countries universal health care systems. In fact, if you don't pay the premiums you don't get a health insurance card, and if you don't have a card you don't get treatment (I've tried when I have forgotten my card). Well, you actually can get treatment if you pay for it (having the card entitles you to an across the board 70 percent discount). Oh, yeah, we do have to pay the 30 percent for everything. Do Canadians pay anything at all?

Why does everyone pay the premiums? A fairly level, homogenous society, combined with reasonably frugal living and sufficient savings, combined with close family relations where if you end up sick your family is expected to pay, which they don't like, so they _see to it_ that you get your #$#% act together.

I think that one thing that Americans (and probably most Canadians, who would tend to be in relatively good health) don't understand is that for these systems to work there needs to be limits on what is covered, ultimately. Frivolous stuff, including some dental care that most Americans would consider basic, but is considered cosmetic in Japan, is not covered. There's an 80-20 situation where if you chop off the 20 percent of care that is not really necessary, not likely to be effective, experimental, too costly, etc., you can save a ton of money, and that's what ultimately enables universal care. This would be a shocker in the United States, where people expect to have their man boob reductions, infertility, chronic fatigue syndrome, toothless smiles, and so on paid for.

Many people fall beteen the cracks in the U.S health programs. Depending on where a person lives geographicaly in the U.S makes a huge diffrence in what type of care and the price of that healthcare. Assuming there is any health care at all in some rual areas.
The cost of health care can bankrupt a family even if they are considered to be fully insured I know,it happend to me and my family.

A friend of mine, who was Dutch, ill with cancer, visiting in Switzerland (where I live - we have all private health insurance, not part of the EU) suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse. I called an emergency/home service; later an ambulance; he was hospitalized for quite some time - sadly, died. As the person apparently in charge, I had to sign at the hospital that I would be responsible for the cost...I didnât expect any problems, but it made me nervous all the same.

After his death, the hospital admin informed me the Dutch insurance scheme paid the totality of the costs, including the âbarâ bill, which was quite considerable.

Story is to point to a little discussed aspect - ppl travel and get sick or have accidents all over the place - and international agreements are really vital. I can also add (lets say as a personal impression and *not a fact*, triple underline) that many foreignors here are treated for free, in a kind of underground way - the public hospitals wonât refuse care if there is no alternative, and they simply canât deal with unresponsive foreign loony private health insurance schemes, or Gvmts. that donât take on responsibility for the costs incurred âawayâ.

Moving on, and cutting to the heart: the US health system is for profit. Because there are plenty of clients, and expansion is possible, the bottom quintile (or whatever demographic...) arenât valuable, worthwhile, clients. There is simply no point in offering services to them, no dollaris can be made.

Golf courses, spas, mid range fashion, the soon defunct car cos, etc. make the same reasoning. They target ppl who have money to spend. In some areas, there is space for cheaper, lower quality offers - such as fashion. (Everyone has to wear clothes, small profits can be made.) However, the medical (insurance - pharma - etc.) community will not tolerate such âlow endâ competition, for reasons that should be obvious.

This is the mold that has to be broken, before discussing what type of structure might suit (single payer Gvmt run, a two tier public/private scheme, a savings /health credit scheme, an all private insurance scheme with those unable to pay subsidized, etc.) So, it seems to me that US citizens are discussing the cart while ignoring the horse.

Addition: in recent months, with employment collapsing in the US, the only areas that have made gains, mostly tiny, are Gvmt. (Obama, the census), health care (there is still money to be squeezed out) and education (that is another issue.) For-profit and Gvmt. expenditure have driven these gains. Those facts are a good example of the scope of the problem.

Solving it will take not only a complete change of mind set (profit is illegitimate, boring, or stupid) but a huge re-distributive move. About 10% of jobs in the US are in the health care system, many of them clerical (insurance.) Where would the displaced workers go?

I remembered something else:

I had to put my Son on Paxil once. I was disgusted that it was going to cost $60.00ca a month! Till I checked online and found that in the US that same drug would cost almost $300.00us a month.

I wondered why? I never figured it out, other than Greed of course.

Land of the Free? Land of the Profits!

@ Darby: In Canada, premiums are paid, either directly or via taxes (it depends on the province), but if you're below an income cutoff, you don't pay anything. As I mentioned above, people in Ontario pay between $300 and $900 for health coverage in provincial taxes each year if they earn at least $20,000 in taxable income, and some portion of our federal taxes are sent back to the province, with another portion going to the provincial health plan. I figure I pay about $1000 a year total on a taxable income of $51,000.

No copays, no restrictions based on pre-existing conditions. Premiums are based on income, not general health and risk groups. It's one hell of a big pool, and it covers all of us quite well. Not perfectly, but well.

Extras not covered by provincial plans (typically dental, physio, drugs and vision) are covered by group benefits at your job or by individual insurance plans. I pay about another $1000 a year for that, for a total of $2000 a year in health costs.

@17: Perhaps Big Business is efficient and effective - but what's their goal? To make money. Not to spend it on your heath care.

I'd rather have a government bureaucrat whose concern is paying my doctor than an insurance bureaucrat whose job rests on making sure he spends as little as he can.

Deep, the area codes 418, 438, 450, 514, and 819 are in Quebec where you are likely to find speakers of French. 514 is Montreal.

The other Eastern Time area codes are in Ontario, where you're likely to find speakers of English. Quite a few folks in Eastern Ontario along the Quebec border speak French by preference.

Try one of these:
416 or 647 - Toronto
905 or 289 - around Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara Peninsula
519 or 226 - Windsor, Sarnia, Waterloo (RIM!)
613 - Ottawa
705 - central and north
807 - north and west

You can check on the codes here: national area code maps.

One of my cousins spent a year in the hospital dying of cancer, and all his widowed mother had to do was visit him, without worrying about losing her home.

Now, if the widowed mother has to go into complex continuing care, a.k.a. a nursing home, which might be attached the hospital, there is a substantial "co-payment." In 2008 it was $1,578/month or $51.88/day. That goes to the organization to pay for its activities. Care includes room, board, clothes laundered and folded, organized activities, and so on. The only other thing that has to be paid for is out-of-pocket expenses for things like hair cuts and little trips.

We had a patchwork system. We ditched it because it caused hardship and financial devastation--and almost everybody gets sick sometime, or gets into an accident. Everybody dies and some do it slowly. A family can't afford to pay $2000 a day for a hospital bed or $50 for a paper towel with three ice cubes in it, a.k.a. "ice pack."

It wasn't imposed on us like some five-year plan. It was fought for by a coalition of farmers and wage-earners, ordinary people, who wanted to afford health insurance. It is not what I would call socialism. It takes advantage of economies of scale and stops the constant leak of money out of the organization to pay profits. The U.S. has some of the best health care in the world for those who can pay top dollar. But it pays twice as much per capita as Canada does and leaves about 40 million people out in the cold. Our system is not perfect. But it takes the financial worry out of being sick.

So please, enough of that reflexive refusal. You manage to stomach public libraries, don't you? State-supported schools and universities? City-wide police and fire and sanitary services? Do you also want the freedom to hire one of several competing fire services the way the Romans did? Or would you rather the city sent the closest one that's not busy? Think about what you want people to have, like good health care, and try to think of a way to do it. How about cutting out those temples of Mammon, the insurance companies, that are constantly draining off funds to pay stock dividends? Read their prospectuses. And put your money into health care. It's a thought.

I have half a mind of telling you to call me at.... But that would be very stupid to post my own number. And by the way don't hesitate to call the area codes 418, 438, 450, 514, and 819 even in Québec we speak English at least when we want to!