- Reaction score
- 3,530
- Points
- 1,160
Roy Harding said:I've got a small growth on my arm (what used to be called a "wart" - and dismissed as insignificant). It's benign - it don't mean nothin'. I find that it upsets my personal equilibrium - why should YOU pay to remove it? Perhaps there should be some way that I could have it removed at my OWN expense?
Unless there have been recent changes to most provincial health insurance schedules of benefits (fee guide), your "wart" (in most cases) would be removed at your expense. (I am most familiar with Alberta Health fees - and OHIP years ago)
The simple explanation is, unless it is on the plantar or palmar surface (and interfering with gait or mechanical function) or on exposed surface of the face (causing gross disfiguration or interfering with airway, vision or mastication) removal is not an insured service.
(edited to add) There is another situation where "wart" removal would be an insured service - if it was on your pecker - also due to interference of function (but not "mastication") and potential for transmission to a partner.
c_canuk said:The thing that worries me about a public only system, is the strain put on the system by people who go and use up the resources because it's "free" even though they really don't need to be there, reducing everyone else's access to the resources, I don't worry about not getting access to rare expensive treatments that are deemed to costly for the system as I'm not financially able to purchase them on my own anyway.
While there are certainly people who make a greater than average number of contacts with the health care system (including for "trivial" reasons), most of these (unnecessary*) contacts are confined to interaction with a primary care physician. In my experience, the numbers are not significant enough that it would overwhelm the system or deprieve resources. GPs generally function well as gatekeepers and though the amount spent on doctors' fees is quite significant, it is far from being the major item in total health care spending.
*There was even an ICD9 code (the diagnostic code used to identify the reason for the visit/billing) for persons seeking health services without any legitimate (or discernable) complaint. Sometimes AHC would send these back as non-paid.
As an example of the difference in utilization between "public" and "private" funded health care system:
Consultation with doctors by country
Japan: 14.4 per person per year
United States: 8.9 per person per year
Belgium: 7.9 per person per year
France: 6.9 per person per year
Austria: 6.7 per person per year
Germany: 6.5 per person per year
Australia: 6.3 per person per year
Canada: 6.3 per person per year
Denmark: 6.1 per person per year
Italy: 6.1 per person per year
Netherlands: 5.9 per person per year
United Kingdom: 4.9 per person per year
New Zealand: 4.4 per person per year
Finland: 4.3 per person per year
Sweden: 2.8 per person per year