During my time in the PNW, friends and colleagues would often ask me for confirmation that the healthcare system in Canada is better than the US. I explained that the government’s universal healthcare covered doctor and hospital visits, but you’d still want a personal healthcare plan through work to help pay for everything else—including the high cost of prescription medications*.
I knew I was privileged to have the healthcare coverage I had in the US. It was a big part of the competitive benefits the company I worked for offered to attract and maintain employees, most with dependents.
In planning my simpler living semi-retirement, I considered the impact to my healthcare coverage and I budgeted for purchasing a private healthcare plan that will help pay for prescriptions, dental care, eye care, physio- and massage therapy, etc. The cost** is more than I had planned for in the 2017 SLSR budget (it is currently 6% of my monthly expenses) and I’ll review the coverage and expense after a year to adjust if necessary. When I signed up, I reminded myself it is insurance.
And although I knew it would take a while to find a new GP after I moved, I was not expecting to be on a waitlist with approximately 42K others to get assigned to a family practice in Nova Scotia. The issues with the growing shortage of doctors are reported daily in the news here.
I am grateful for my health and I’ve realized since I moved back how my retirement might have been impacted if I’d had a chronic health issue, for example: 1) keeping my job longer to maintain the healthcare plan through work, 2) working longer to save more $ to pay for a more expensive private healthcare plan and more out-of-pocket medical expenses when I retired, 3) working longer to have non-interrupted access to health professionals like a GP.
I’m following up on my routine screenings so I don’t get behind schedule. I’m getting massage therapy on my neck and shoulders. I used the phone-in service to speak with a registered nurse. I had a check-up with a new dentist. All my interactions with health professionals here have been excellent. When necessary, I’ll go to a walk-in clinic. For now I am my own GP.
*There are programs to assist people who cannot afford a private healthcare plan or who are over 65 with prescription costs.
**The cost of a private healthcare plan is income tax-deductible.
References:
- PNW: Pacific Northwest.
- SLSR: simpler living semi-retirement.
- GP: General Practitioner, a family doctor.
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