Let me provide you with a little background..... Back in February I got sick. It was just a bad cold, but inevitably Sofia caught it just as I was improving. Unfortunately for her, she got it bad and I decided that, after 2 nights of fever and a very listless baby, that I had to take her to see someone. Now, we don't have a family doctor yet, so it had to be the nearest walk-in clinic. Luckily we had gotten the kids' and Nick's OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) just the day before or it would have cost us $275 + doctor's fee just to even be seen. Anyway, once she was seen by the doctor, it quickly became clear that she was a lot more sick than I had anticipated, and we were sent down to the Emergency room to have her put on a nebuliser. By this point she was so hysterical at the sight of anyone in a blue uniform (after being subjected to two nasal swabs which go far further up the nose than you can imagine possible without encountering brain, and lots of ear and throat checking) to cut a very long story short, after a chest x-ray and two sessions on the oxygen, we were told that she had an infection in her left lung and an ear infection. Armed with a prescription for antibiotics, an inhaler and an aero chamber, we left the hospital a little after 6 - after having been there since just after 10:30am. I was exhausted and quite drained, and if it weren't for my new (canadian) BFF Namugenyi, I think I would have collapsed in a puddle. Allow me to digress from the OHIP saga a moment, you see, Nam saved the day in so many ways. First off, she was the one who whisked me and Sofia off in a cab to the Kids clinic at St Joseph's Hospital, she then bought me some food whilst I went down to Emergency. My phone died and I was unable to contact anyone - or even Nick to let him know what was happening and that he needed to pick the kids up from school. Nam went all PI and googled Nick's work and eventually got through to him for me. She then came through to Emergency and sat with me and refused to leave us until Nick arrived. And all the time she had her little baby Eli with her too.
Jasmine comforts a poorly Sofia
a much better Sofia sharing her antibiotics with Baby - so kind
Her friend Eli
Back to OHIP. It does not cover prescriptions - even for children. Neither does it subsidise them. So you pay full whack - cost of meds, dispensing fee, mark up and tax. We are lucky in that we are covered on an extended insurance plan through Nick's job, that pays 100% of prescription charges (though you pay a flat fee of $5 per item). If we didn't have this, the bill for the 3 items would have been approx $90. All the same meds that I have had before for Ben and Jasmine and have never given a second thought to cost because they were FREE. I could have flown home cheaper and had the treatment for free if we didn't have our coverage. I still am uncovered, but will be sorting that out asap, lest I fall ill/get run over/have a nervous breakdown.....
Oh, and OHIP doesn't cover any dental (not even for minors), nor Optical (yup you guessed it, not even for kids). it doesn't cover birth control (and again, you pay full whack), Ambulance Services. Yup, you must pay $45 for the ambulance that takes you to hospital. There are other things not covered too. So people of the UK, never again complain about the health care system. You are privileged! And in that vein, I will leave you with a link to sign a petition to SAVE THE NHS. Do not stand by and let it become like OHIP or even worse, like the USA
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