David Savage wrote: > Which raises another question, how expensive is private health insurance?
As far as I know, it doesn't exist in Canada. In the US, working for a decent company that provides several health insurance plans, it can be anywhere from free for an individual in a basic plan, to what I pay: ~US$400/month for full family coverage (the wife, 2 kids, and myself; including eyecare, dental, mental, etc.). An example of how it works: My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was able to see the head of oncology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital for diagnosis and various treatment options. With hormone treatment and radiation therapy after about a year, he is "cancer free" and it cost him nothing other than his insurance premium. Also, there was no waiting for diagnosis and no delay in treatment. Perhaps in Canada it would have been completely free, but from what I've read about prostate cancer, (I have an interest in this particular illness for obvious reasons) the treatment options my dad was offered may not be "allowed" depending on the stage of cancer, etc, etc, and the diagnosis may have taken longer due to resource limitations and so-called "waiting lists" which may have made the illness worse. Of course, the reports I read/hear are US-centric. I don't live in Canada and don't pretend to understand how things "really" work there. WE just hear the "horror stories." -- Christian http://photography.skofteland.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
