Jagmeet offers free dental

[the truth]

YAY free stuff!

Free dental!

Free college!

Free housing!

you forgot one more https://vancouversun.com/health/b-c-to- ... ose-crisis

[Babba_not_Gump]

YAY free stuff!

Free dental!

Free college!

Free housing!

you forgot one more https://vancouversun.com/health/b-c-to- ... ose-crisis

And another
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-sco ... -1.6125598
NDP pledges 10 paid sick days for every worker

Maybe the NDP and the Greens can find a way to grow money on the billion trees Justin has had planted.

[JLives]

Dental care IS health care. It absolutely should be covered. Not for cosmetic procedures of course.

Option 1: you go to the dentist and pay the bill to fix your tooth. Maybe you have a dental plan at work that covers some of that cost for you.

Option 2: you go to the dentist and get your tooth fixed. Dentist applies to government bureaucracy that must tax you for the cost of the repair, the cost of collecting your taxes, the cost of funds transfers from general revenue to health care to dental sub-ministry, the cost of processing the claim, the cost of paying the dentist, the cost of auditing the dentist's claims, and the cost of maintaining your dental records in a government database.

So instead of paying $300 to get that filling, you want to pay the government 2 or 3 times that amount in taxes to pay the bill for you through a hugely inefficient bureaucracy. Brilliant!

Don't pretend it's pie in the sky stuff. We have single payer healthcare now and while there's room for improvement it's vastly superior to our neighbour's system below. *removed* not everyone has $300 to spare on short notice so they go with option 3 which is it doesn't get fixed.

[Catri]

At one time way back BC Medical covered glasses & dental.

It was removed and extended medical plans took over or patients had to pay out of pocket.

Last year had a root canal... without extended medical it would have cost me around $3,000 (if that was the case I probably opt for extraction).

BC Medical hasn't covered dental or glasses in my lifetime (I think I'm about the same age as our public health insurance scheme, give or take a few years). I know this because my dad was a small business owner and he had to pay our dental bills out of his own pocket because extended medical for small businesses wasn't a thing in the 60s and 70s. Our eye exams were covered, but the resultant glasses were not.

Dental health is just as important as any other kind of healthcare. I've been in situations where I haven't had extended medical, or poor extended medical, and have avoided taking care of necessary dental work because I simply couldn't afford it. I think it could be made part of our existing health insurance.

Option 2: you go to the dentist and get your tooth fixed. Dentist applies to government bureaucracy that must tax you for the cost of the repair, the cost of collecting your taxes, the cost of funds transfers from general revenue to health care to dental sub-ministry, the cost of processing the claim, the cost of paying the dentist, the cost of auditing the dentist's claims, and the cost of maintaining your dental records in a government database.

So instead of paying $300 to get that filling, you want to pay the government 2 or 3 times that amount in taxes to pay the bill for you through a hugely inefficient bureaucracy. Brilliant!

I'm sure that same argument was used when universal healthcare was being proposed, but the amount Americans spend on healthcare puts the lie to the idea that a public system is cheaper than a private one. We spend much less per person on our public system. There's no reason to think dental would be any different.

[GordonH]

At one time way back BC Medical covered glasses & dental.

It was removed and extended medical plans took over or patients had to pay out of pocket.

Last year had a root canal... without extended medical it would have cost me around $3,000 (if that was the case I probably opt for extraction).

BC Medical hasn't covered dental or glasses in my lifetime (I think I'm about the same age as our public health insurance scheme, give or take a few years). I know this because my dad was a small business owner and he had to pay our dental bills out of his own pocket because extended medical for small businesses wasn't a thing in the 60s and 70s. Our eye exams were covered, but the resultant glasses were not.

Dental health is just as important as any other kind of healthcare. I've been in situations where I haven't had extended medical, or poor extended medical, and have avoided taking care of necessary dental work because I simply couldn't afford it. I think it could be made part of our existing health insurance.

If memory serves me it didn’t last very long.
Dave Barrett government brought it in and couple years later when Bill Bennett became premier it was removed quickly.
Mostly due to huge costs for coverage.
I remember going to dentist numerous times during those 3 years 72-75, then all sudden it went back to every 6 months (or when tooth issues popped up).

[Catri]

If memory serves me it didn’t last very long.
Dave Barrett government brought it in and couple years later when Bill Bennett became premier it was removed quickly.
Mostly due to huge costs for coverage.
I remember going to dentist numerous times during those 3 years 72-75, then all sudden it went back to every 6 months (or when tooth issues popped up).

Ahhh, that makes sense. It probably blipped by before I knew about it.

[Gone_Fishin]

Option 2: you go to the dentist and get your tooth fixed. Dentist applies to government bureaucracy that must tax you for the cost of the repair, the cost of collecting your taxes, the cost of funds transfers from general revenue to health care to dental sub-ministry, the cost of processing the claim, the cost of paying the dentist, the cost of auditing the dentist's claims, and the cost of maintaining your dental records in a government database.

So instead of paying $300 to get that filling, you want to pay the government 2 or 3 times that amount in taxes to pay the bill for you through a hugely inefficient bureaucracy. Brilliant!

I'm sure that same argument was used when universal healthcare was being proposed, but the amount Americans spend on healthcare puts the lie to the idea that a public system is cheaper than a private one. We spend much less per person on our public system. There's no reason to think dental would be any different.

Average American health care cost is $6,015 USD per working family in the US.

In Canada, the average working family pays $9,594 in income taxes, with 2/3 of that going to health care, which = $6,428 CDN.

Your claim is false. US family income is ~ $58,000 USD, Canadian family income is ~ $53,000 USD. As a percentage of income, the US family is close to the same cost as Canadian families in health care costs with exchange factored in.

[Catri]

Average American health care cost is $6,015 USD per working family in the US.

In Canada, the average working family pays $9,594 in income taxes, with 2/3 of that going to health care, which = $6,428 CDN.

Your claim is false. US family income is ~ $58,000 USD, Canadian family income is ~ $53,000 USD. As a percentage of income, the US family is close to the same cost as Canadian families in health care costs with exchange factored in.

I suspect you’re ignoring that the American family’s tax dollars also go toward supporting their healthcare system, which changes the equation significantly. Per capita no country comes close to what the USA spends on healthcare.

[sixxonesixx]

Wonder if I can get discounts on lawn service and free car washes too. These guys crack me up. Like Rick Mercer once said, "Put them all in a barrel and you still have nothing". Canada is so screwed.