Can You Afford Private Health Care To Avoid The Long Wait List?
Can You Afford Private Health Care
There is always a debate as to whether or not you can really afford private health care. Having access to ‘free’ medical care is a concept Canadians have held for many years. But let’s be real, it is not free and you pay a significant premium in the way of paying taxes and waiting for what is deemed non-urgent. According to the Fraser Institute, ‘Previous research has shown Canada ranks among the top spenders on health care internationally but ranks poorly on a number of key performance indicators’. [1] Is the system perfect? No, it is not and there is much improvement to be made such as adding a private sector or cost sharing, which has proven to be effective in 8 other high-income OECD countries with universal health care. Until then, Canadians seek out other options such as private treatment.
Making the decision to pay out of pocket to receive treatment sooner is a major life altering decision but many people only look at the financial aspects of it. There are a lot of other factors to consider such as the level of pain you are in, how much time or income you’ve already lost due to limited ability or inability to work or if you are able to participate in the things you love to do such as exercising or a sport.
Questions To Consider
Are you paying for a gym membership you cannot use? How much are you currently paying for medications to treat your ailment until your procedure or surgery? Do you have monthly payments for medical devices such as braces, crutches, or wheelchair? Are you losing income? Are you in so much pain that it is hard to live a normal life? Is it hard to get out of bed each day?
You cannot put a price tag on your health. Sometimes it takes sitting down and weighing all of the pros and cons to your decision and whether or not it makes sense financially and emotionally for you to wait months (or years) vs weeks/days.
There are a handful of financial lenders that specialize in medical travel loans. They have very affordable payment plans should you be considering medical travel and are concerned with financing it. We work with 2 of them. If you find yourself in a situation like this, give Health Vantis a call. We offer a Free 1-hour consultation and can help walk you through the pros and cons.
[1] https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/03/20/1442487/0/en/Fraser-Institute-News-Release-Canada-s-health-care-system-stands-in-stark-contrast-to-more-successful-universal-systems-around-the-world.html and https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/how-canadian-health-care-differs-from-other-systems?utm_source=Media-Releases&utm_campaign=How-Canadian-Health-Care-Differs-from-Other Systems&utm_medium=Media&utm_content=Learn_More&utm_term=700