• Ulvain@sh.itjust.works
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    23 hours ago

    Am Canadian. Got stung by a wasp on the foot last Saturday. Got worried yesterday when i noticed the red area around the sting grew. Contacted my gp’s office at the CLSC, got an appointment to see her this morning, got a scrip for antibiotics since she thinks it’s likely an infection, picked it up this pm and starting it tonight. 0$ for the consult, antibiotics are ~60$ (that’s the only place my private insurance kicks in, my out of pocket is 12$).

    And this is a very standard experience in Quebec - with 1 caveat: my family’s fortunate enough to have an assigned GP, there’s a shortage and a pretty long (2y I think) waiting list; on the flip side there are a ton of walking/24/48h appointment clinics (also 0$) for those without.

    When i say 0$, i want to be clear: it’s not free, it’s part of what’s covered by the RAMQ, which is the provincial health insurance company, but our yearly premium for that insurance is at most 800$.

    That’s what happens when the health insurance is designed to hedge and amortize social costs rather than generate profits…