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Merridith · 11-27-2006, 04:54 PM

Hi Rupali:

I am a Canadian living in British Columbia.

One of the benefits of the Canadian medical system is that it is universal. As long as you pay your monthly fee you are in. No exclusions. There is however a 3-month wait period before you can start dipping. You might be excluded from this wait period because your benefit is being covered by a company.

Since you will be covered under your husband’s work medical you don’t have to worry about paying the fee. It sounds like the company is going to offer you extended medical benefits. You should look at the offer very closely as you can often get quite a lot extra for a small fee. This is because the insurance companies only take up the slack AFTER OHIP (which I believe is the name of the medical insurance in Ontario) is expended. The offer of extended medical benefits will only be offered once at the commencement of employment. After that - it vanishes - so if you want it -take it.

Toronto has excellent oncology facilities. I believe that they are rated number two in Canada. You should be in good hands there. In terms of medical quality - the Canadian medical system is equal to the US system - within a similar quality range.

Herceptin is covered under OHIP. Tykerb is not. It is currently approved by the government for medical use, however with a $70,000+ annual price tag it has become part of a political debate. How much money can the taxpayer spend on these new very expensive treatments with limited life-prolonging benefit? There is only a certain amount of money in the pot - and it must be doled out for the maximum benefit of the country. $70,000 = 1 person with cancer or the same amount to vaccinate 100,000 school kids. That is the synopsis of the debate. - Just a suggestion - if you choose to pay for extended medical through your husband you might very well be covered for Tykerb use. But check for those nasty pre-existing clauses first.

One benefit that you will find is that you don’t have to keep track of all the various bills that the US pay-per-use system generates so that it is less stressful to deal with. Your bills are few and simple.

(ooops - there is a maximum post length - continued in the next message!)

11-27-2006, 04:54 PM	#3
Merridith Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Canada Posts: 116	Canadian Medical Hi Rupali: I am a Canadian living in British Columbia. One of the benefits of the Canadian medical system is that it is universal. As long as you pay your monthly fee you are in. No exclusions. There is however a 3-month wait period before you can start dipping. You might be excluded from this wait period because your benefit is being covered by a company. Since you will be covered under your husband’s work medical you don’t have to worry about paying the fee. It sounds like the company is going to offer you extended medical benefits. You should look at the offer very closely as you can often get quite a lot extra for a small fee. This is because the insurance companies only take up the slack AFTER OHIP (which I believe is the name of the medical insurance in Ontario) is expended. The offer of extended medical benefits will only be offered once at the commencement of employment. After that - it vanishes - so if you want it -take it. Toronto has excellent oncology facilities. I believe that they are rated number two in Canada. You should be in good hands there. In terms of medical quality - the Canadian medical system is equal to the US system - within a similar quality range. Herceptin is covered under OHIP. Tykerb is not. It is currently approved by the government for medical use, however with a $70,000+ annual price tag it has become part of a political debate. How much money can the taxpayer spend on these new very expensive treatments with limited life-prolonging benefit? There is only a certain amount of money in the pot - and it must be doled out for the maximum benefit of the country. $70,000 = 1 person with cancer or the same amount to vaccinate 100,000 school kids. That is the synopsis of the debate. - Just a suggestion - if you choose to pay for extended medical through your husband you might very well be covered for Tykerb use. But check for those nasty pre-existing clauses first. One benefit that you will find is that you don’t have to keep track of all the various bills that the US pay-per-use system generates so that it is less stressful to deal with. Your bills are few and simple. (ooops - there is a maximum post length - continued in the next message!)