This seems to be a common perception. All Americans and even most Canadians are aware that in the United States the hospital or your doctor sends you a bill after each and every visit. However Canadians have many healthcare services dispensed without having to pay for them on the spot. So the perception is that the service was free. Nothing could be farther from the truth! We are ALL paying for our healthcare. We pay through our taxes (EHT), we pay through our employers who often fund supplemental health benefit plans and we pay out of pocket through our after tax dollars. The problem with the perception of free healthcare is that we consume at will because we have no idea of the value of the services we use. I would never suggest you don’t go to the emergency room to “save your province money “but I would ask you to consider how you consume and why.
Most employer health benefit plans have a defined schedule of benefits. As an employee, you derive value from the plan by making claims without consideration of the cost. After all, you are entitled to the benefits. If you need a chiro visit- you should have it. But if you are buying new glasses which you don’t need simply because your plan offers you new glasses every two years, then you are contributing to the rising cost of your plan. There is a tendency to assume that you lose it if you don’t use it. The more that each plan member uses the plan the higher the premiums will be. Having a more flexible plan will allow employee’s to use the money for the services that their families actually use and allows employers to have more predictable costs. There are choices and options!
Your health benefit plan is considered part of your total compensation by your employer. Wouldn’t you like to have some influence on this important part of your compensation? After all, you are paying for it!
Enlightening article, so interesting to think about health care like this.
ReplyDeleteWell said!
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