The McGill Daily - Hyde Park: When universal healthcare isn’t

The McGill Daily:

"But as any medical professional will tell you, this vaunted Canadian universalism is gradually being attenuated. As I recently discovered, universal in Ontario does not always translate to universal in Quebec. Specialized doctors are increasingly compelling their out-of-province patients – a group that includes many university students – to pay out-of-pocket for medical services.

"Specialists are adopting this practice because it relieves them of the cost of processing out-of-province claims and protects them from the occasional loss should a patient turn out to lack provincial health coverage. While out-of-province patients are still entitled to reimbursement from their home provinces, they must seek recovery on their own, a process that can take many weeks. If an out-of-province patient fails to pay, however, the specialist may refuse treatment, a course of action that carries no disciplinary consequences. "

Another caveat. Makes state by state action less appealing. Medicare-for-all looks better as Medicare causes no trouble when traveling to say, Florida for part of the year.

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