Happy to Live in Québec

When Americans go on and on about how good I have it as a Canadian resident, I usually remind them of the downsides. Long waits at the doctor's offices. Shoddy service in hospitals. Lack of specialists for most diseases and conditions......etc..... But then I was reminded this week about just how good I, and all Canadians, do have it when it comes to health care.

My cousin's husband, Ben, found out he has leukemia. They were just getting by as things were, but now there's no insurance, no job, no coverage. His job at a garage didn't provide benefits. My cousin, Maria, stays home with their two toddlers and takes night classes to become a paralegal. Even if she were to get a job to try to pay for his treatments, she would have to pay for day care which would be a large percentage of her wages. And then who would drive Ben to his doctor's appointments? It seems like a dead end. Of course the hospital can't refuse to treat him even without insurance, but it will leave them in tremendous debt. How much? I can't begin to imagine.

So I thought, how much would it cost if my husband had leukemia here in Quebec? Treatments= $0. We bought an additional insurance for about $7/month that covers all expenses incurred by a hospital stay (gas, parking (the parking lots at hospitals aren't free here), a private room (the rooms usually have several people of both sexes), $50/day, and food). And if we had children, it would cost $7 a day in Quebec's government-subsidized day care. So for $7 a month and $7 a day (if we had children), we would be very comfortable. Sure, we pay a lot in taxes, but when the unexpected happens, it is appreciated to have our basic needs covered. Merci Québec!

Update: Ben's in the hospital and will be for at least another week.  He's very sick.  The hospital is helping them apply for Medicaid and even if they don't recieve it, the hospital will take on their case as charity.  So, it will be covered, but not without paperwork, headaches, and worries.