Hurry up and wait
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The Fraser Institute recently published its 22nd annual report on wait times for medical treatment in Canada.
The BC - based think tank reports that people across the country are forced to wait longer than what physicians consider to be clinically reasonable.
Read “Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada - 2012 Report” here.
(Spoiler alert: there is little good news - especially for all the baby boomers that started turning 65 last year)
This isn’t a political statement, just simple math: governments at every level cannot afford to take care of us.
Specialist physicians across 12 specialties and 10 provinces report a total waiting time of 17.7 weeks between referral by a general practitioner and elective treatment.
Patients in Ontario experience the shortest wait (14.9 weeks) followed by Quebec (16.6 weeks) and British Columbia (17.0 weeks).
On average, people wait the longest for orthopedic surgery (39.6 weeks) and the least for cancer treatment (4.1 weeks).
Fido the pet dog can get an appointment with your vet tomorrow and hip replacement the next day.
Rest assured that movie stars, politicians, media types and professional hockey players are not waiting in line.
People with financial resources can and do get on a plane and head elsewhere for medical treatment.
That’s why we developed ELITE U.S. Healthcare™ in 2009 – read the product launch press release here.
It provides access to information, funding and timely treatment at top medical Centers of Excellence in the U.S. (e.g. Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Sloan-Kettering, etc.) and around the world.
Unlike Critical Illness Insurance which covers a very specific list of about 2 dozen conditions, this unique product covers any condition resulting from illness, accident or injury with a wait time for treatment in Canada.
People with pre-existing conditions and bad health histories can usually get coverage - likely with exclusions and/or ratings.
ELITE U.S. Healthcare™, underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, makes lifetime direct payments of up to US$5 million for all medical costs and business class travel from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.
It is very cost effective and all the premiums are tax-deductible if set up properly.
I bought the first policy for myself, soon followed by one of Canada’s big 5 chartered banks who took policies for key C-suite executives.
Please be in touch to learn more.
I look forward to helping you and your family.
Stay healthy.