I don't know anything about the Canadian health care system but a friend of a friend of mine has colitis pretty bad but lives in Canada and I guess doesn't qualify(??) for surgery.
Just wonder if this site would be helpful in trouble shooting, suggestions or ideas about the insurance side of things in order for him to be able to get surgery?
I haven't seen this guy lately, but I want to contact him just to let him know about this site and find out just what is going on with his condition.
"To Every Time There Is A Purpose"
Posts: 544 | Location: Michigan | Registered: April 17, 2006
I am in BC and all my surgeries were covered. The only thing that might occur is long waits for surgeries. Ostomy supplies were not covered. I've been in the hospital A LOT and never got a bill.
Posts: 215 | Location: Victoria BC | Registered: January 22, 2006
Hi Laurie I live in Ontario,here you need a health card,it is free.Here are some numbers for him to call. 1-866-9997612. that is health canada. or www.hc-sc.gc.ca for ontario phone 1-800-664-8988.
If he is a resindent he is covered,that simple hope this helps.
If he lives in Canada he should qualify...I had no wait times for surgery and no bill. My provincial health care plan covers 75% of my ostomy supplies. My private insurance plan covers the rest as well as qualifies me for a semi private or private hospital room.
I live in Alberta, and am covered by Blue Cross. The only bill I received was for the cost of the air ambulance from Regina to Saskatoon. In case you're wondering, I was at my moms house at the time that I had to be hospitalized (which is in Regina).
Doctor visits, procedures, and surgery are all covered by provincial health plans, so no Canadian should have to pay for these out of pocket. The difficulty is that the Canadian system is not consumer-driven. That is, you can't just contact a surgeon and schedule an operation yourself. First you need a referral from a GP to a gastroenterologist. Then the GI needs to refer you to a surgeon. Then the surgeon decides whether you can get surgery.
There can be long wait times involved. It can take months to get a first appointment with a GI, and the waiting list for surgery can be months or even more than a year. This is especially true for pouch creation. In my case, my UC is lower priority than all the colon cancer cases, so I have been waiting a long time.
The exception is for emergency cases. If you crawl into Emergency with a perforated colon, you'll be in the operating room pronto.
The upshot of all this is that someone with bad UC should be able to get on the waiting list for surgery, but they may have to wait unless the situation is critical.
