We cats had a minor but urgent medical problem yesterday, so we visited a Montreal veterinarian. It was our first vet experience in Canada, and it was both instructive and deflating.
The first thing the woman at the front desk said to us was, "Your card, please." She meant, of course, our national healthcare ID card. We sighed and explained that we were U.S. citizens.
"Okay, then you must pay and be reimbursed by your insurance," she said. So for the privilege of seeing the doctor, we forked over $125 — in cash. (No credit cards were accepted, you see, because there was no need for them. The Canadian patients in the waiting room that morning would receive all their treatments for free.)
Before long, we were diagnosed and discharged, clutching a precious prescription order in our paws. Off we went to the Jean Coutu drugstore, which filled our medications in 15 short minutes and for a relative pittance. (That's because in Canada, the federal government has the power to negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies on behalf of all 33 million of its citizens. What a concept!)
This small experience with the Canadian healthcare system made us realize anew some depressing facts: how little President Obama had to settle for when it came to passing healthcare reform in the U.S., yet how welcome it will be when its main provisions finally kick in in 2014. Oh, and how very much the Republican Party hates the idea of affordable healthcare for all.
We cats HISS.
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