$950 to see a doctor at KGH! Really?

[grammafreddy]

If MSP is mandatory in BC, how can they cut you off?

[Always Sunny]

If MSP is mandatory in BC, how can they cut you offÉ

You have to be a resident/signed up.

For example. I moved from Ontario, so I had to make the effort to actually sign up within the 3 month period they allow.

Mine also goes through my employer. If I were to leave the job and either move out of province, be unemployed, change my billing info etc...I'd be cut off.

Sounded like the OP moved out of province and lost the coverage and never ensured he was signed up again.

[Otter]

[quote="French Castanut"]
But $950 really??? And that's not including the "extra" services

I'm sorry that you feel you have the right to "free" medical care because you just didn't have the time to get a medical card like the rest of us. I'm also sorry that you think that it should cost nothing to use the ER as your personal doctor.

FYI: Yes, it does cost a lot to go to ER because there are a lot of PROFESSIONAL folks working there that paid out thousands and thousands of dollars to get a degree to help YOU. Depending on what is wrong with you, you may need several of these Pros to help you.

Example: the last time I was in ER I had one nurse (a really cute male nurse!) who was there the whole time, the ER attending Doctor who was there most of the time, a tech running the heart monitor, plus a few other players who came and went as necessary. I had an IV with several drugs being added as needed, a crash-cart at stand-by in case, and I don't know what else. That's not included the admin clerk, the pair of nurses who put me on the stretcher and took me to my cubicle, and all those really interesting drugs.

So, you see, that nine hundred or so bucks my 3-hour visit may have cost did not go to the Supervisors to decorate their offices, for coffee for the nurses, or for the tv in the staff lounge (if they even have a tv). It went to treat ONE patient that really needed help.

A patient who has never been without a medical card in their life and is very happy to pay the small monthly fee just in case something like that day in the ER happens again.

So stop whining and go get your darn card - and for your family as well. You never know when you might just really need that card for a life or death visit to the ER.

[36Drew]

If you still have coverage in QC, might be cheaper to fly there and visit a doctor.

If he were from any other province or territory, and had active health coverage there, he could use that here. All of the provinces and territories, save for Quebec, have reciprocal agreements with each other. The inverse is that if you or I travel anywhere else in Canada, we'd be covered - unless we travel to Quebec.

[joer2012]

For $950 I expect lazyboy in the waiting room and free coffee or orange juice and a WII & Xbox and movie theater while waiting to see a doctor or no wait time at all.[/quote]

Another useless whining hobbit taking the piiss out of the Canadian medical system.

Grotesque.

[theyeti]

care card is really hard to get .. then u here there r 9 million of em out there and only 3 million ppl in bc .. something does not add up ..

[Ali Gator]

Considering you have a wife and child it was not very smart to NOT make sure you have medical coverage. That should have been one of the first things you would make sure were in place when you came back to BC. If you go to the walk in clinic it will cost you around $50.00. Of course if you go to the hosptial and have many other nurses and doctors working it is going to cost you a lot more...that's why you make sure you have your medical in place. I hope you have applied for it now...

[fluffy]

Just pound your fist on the table and tell them to hurry up. Works every time. And don't forget to demand service in French, after all it's your right.

[/stir]

[frellingdren]

My grandmother had to take an emergency ambulance ride from her small town in central Washington to Spokane to get a pacemaker installed.

The cost for the ride...not the pacemaker, not the doctors, nurses, admin staff, not the Advil or bandaids. JUST the ride was $45,000 US. The total bill was well above 6 figures.

Thankfully she is insured like crazy, but she still had to shell out a bit for her co-pay.

Makes the $950 not so bad, eh?

[Bluer]

That's what happens when tax revenue is treated like a good egg, instead of a means to have a social safety net strung for everyone to be caught by. At least you could apparently afford it or else MSP would've been applicable.

"Wahhhh, I want to be able to accumulate wealth endlessly."

With all of the absurd things you've probably purchased over the holidays, one would think that $1k on health would be okay, but I guess even loved ones aren't exempt. Be thankful that you do not have to work two precarious part-time and because of increasingly anti-unionism, will have to wait until something is a medical emergency before seeking treatment for lack of money or coverage because, in our fine country, one can't die from the ills of life, but one won't get treatment until they're practically on its doorstep.

Take this as a lesson to vote more intelligently- or vote period. Those who have the money to pay taxes without refunds need to make such contributions to society somehow, but it's not like such an experience would ever cause anyone to question their ill-founded beliefs on social progress anyway.

[kgcayenne]

French C, how long were you away from BC?

Did your premiums just go into arrears, or did you cancel your coverage when you moved away?

Just grab a good cup of coffee, or other beverage relevant to your level of pain ;-) and call MSP BC to get your coverage sorted out.

[crookedmember]

MSP is insurance. Insurance is a pool of money that people have paid into. If you get sick, the pool pays for your treatment, regardless of cost and/or how long you've paid into said pool.

Some people pay thousands and thousands of dollars into the pool before they get $50 out. That's how insurance works.

You expect treatment for $50 without the inconvenience or expense of paying into the pool. If everyone did that, the system truly would be broke.

MSP coverage is inexpensive and really easy to get. If you are low income, they even offer premium assistance. There is really nobody to blame except yourself.

[Glacier]

MSP is insurance.

Not really. It's a tax more than anything. If you don't pay the tax, then you pay some of your medical bills out of pocket.

MSP is mandatory for everyone.

That's not quite true. Anyone can opt out. If I were single without any kids I'd totally opt out to about age 45, and [potentially] save $30,000.

The charge would be the same for anyone who does not have medical insurance.

This is not quite true either. It took my wife a couple of years to immigrate and get medical coverage (they gave her the wrong form and it took a good year for the government to figure that out. A new form was filled out and then it took another year for that one to be processed... yadda, yadda), so when our oldest was born we have to pay the bill. There are two different rates, one for out of province visitors and one for residents of BC who have either opted out of coverage. The dual rate structures only apply to hospital visits, and not doctor visits to their private clinics.

Most of her visits were to the private offices, but some visits were to the hospital (ultrasounds and such). At first they charged us the residential rate since she had been living in BC for three years (I think it was $50), but then they changed their mind, and charged us the non-residential rate of $200 per doctor visit. Doctor fees were in addition to this. For the delivery it was $1,000 per day at the hospital. Doctor fees were additional. The two delivery physicians present charged their fee. I cannot remember the exact figure, but I remember the anesthetist charged us $938 something for the epidural.

To the OP: $950 for an emergency room visit is not unreasonable because this is likely less far less than it actually costs... cleaning, building maintenance, nurse salaries, doctor salaries, lab services, etc. The reason BC residents pay a reduced rate over out of province is because their tax dollars go towards healthcare, and the medical premiums are but a small portion of that amount. If you are truly a BC resident without coverage, you would have been charged the reduced rate (I think). Don't complain, and suck it up princess.

[Triple 6]

MSP is mandatory for everyone.

That's not quite true. Anyone can opt out. If I were single without any kids I'd totally opt out to about age 45, and [potentially] save $30,000.

According to the website: Under the Medicare Protection Act, enrolment with MSP is mandatory for all eligible residents and their dependents.

So you have to apply/enroll and then just not pay?

[kgcayenne]

Further questions: Did you sign on for new coverage where you moved betwen residencies here in BC? Are you 100% sure you aren't in some sort of grace period between provincial coverages?