Not sure about Canada, but I'm sure it's similar to how things work in Australia.
Emergency care happens immediately. If you need something non-urgent, like a knee reconstruction that isn't impacting your daily life, then you can have extended wait times for appointments and surgery.
For example, I broke my ankle playing futsal many years ago. I went to emergency, they treated me within a few hours and gave me an appointment to see a surgeon in a few days once the swelling had gone down. I saw the surgeon, he assessed me as category 1 and I was on the operating table a few days later. I had follow up appointments within normal timeframes and then had the pin removed a few months later.
I had a few sessions of physiotherapy after the operation at the hospital and then moved to a private physiotherapist because the futsal centre had insurance as part of our playing fees.
None of this cost me anything out of pocket (obviously I paid indirectly through the tax system as part of my taxes) and I received great care.
That being said, I was assessed as a cat 1 patient, so there are government mandated timeframes that go along with that.
However, let's say my injury was less severe (maybe a torn ACL) and I was able to function without immediate surgery. I would likely have been assessed as a cat 3 patient and would have had to wait up to 12 months to see a surgeon and then maybe longer for an operation if that was deemed necessary.
In this case, if i have private health insurance, I could go to a private surgeon in a private hospital and be seen immediately. I would pay my excess and whatever hospital extras are required. Timeframe would be whatever my surgeon decided based on his patient load and operating theatre availability.
Emergency care happens immediately. If you need something non-urgent, like a knee reconstruction that isn't impacting your daily life, then you can have extended wait times for appointments and surgery.
For example, I broke my ankle playing futsal many years ago. I went to emergency, they treated me within a few hours and gave me an appointment to see a surgeon in a few days once the swelling had gone down. I saw the surgeon, he assessed me as category 1 and I was on the operating table a few days later. I had follow up appointments within normal timeframes and then had the pin removed a few months later.
I had a few sessions of physiotherapy after the operation at the hospital and then moved to a private physiotherapist because the futsal centre had insurance as part of our playing fees.
None of this cost me anything out of pocket (obviously I paid indirectly through the tax system as part of my taxes) and I received great care.
That being said, I was assessed as a cat 1 patient, so there are government mandated timeframes that go along with that.
However, let's say my injury was less severe (maybe a torn ACL) and I was able to function without immediate surgery. I would likely have been assessed as a cat 3 patient and would have had to wait up to 12 months to see a surgeon and then maybe longer for an operation if that was deemed necessary.
In this case, if i have private health insurance, I could go to a private surgeon in a private hospital and be seen immediately. I would pay my excess and whatever hospital extras are required. Timeframe would be whatever my surgeon decided based on his patient load and operating theatre availability.
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