I'm Canadian but lets be realistic, there are many things that would cause serious financial hardship due to medical costs in Canada. A friend of mine right now is suffering through intense pain from her teeth that aren't being fixed because she doesn't have money/insurance. She's deciding between healthcare and money.
You can also lose your life on a waiting list in Canada. Not much purpose in having $23K in the bank but being dead.
For sure you're not going to get a $23K bill for a bug bite but you will pay $3000/month for chemo, etc. Lots of things aren't covered by medicare, and they're quite expensive. Canada is more like a $23K bill for getting cancer, or other long term/terminal illnesses.
Edit: OP added a ninja-edit to his comment that included the part about teeth-pain... as my link explains, non-emergency dentalcare is not covered by default.
Yes, I'm aware of PharmaCare. Sure, they theoretically cover insulin; but if you read the fine print about which insulins they cover, it's not so helpful.
An example of their craziness: They cover insulin pumps for children under 18, but they don't cover the types of insulin which work in insulin pumps.
You linked to a provincial health service for B.C. residents. That's not Canadian coverage and I don't see where it says that medication is covered.
Most citizens in Canada don't have free (or reduced cost) medication unless they are below the poverty line.
I came out of the hospital with an $800/month medication bill after a diagnosis of colitis, after missing 2 months of work being bed-ridden, while self-employed with no personal health insurance.
In the USA (don't have stats for Canada) there were 4 billion medication prescriptions written by doctors in the USA... in 2011 alone. That equals 13.3 per person (w/ 300 million population) and around $4 billion dollars. Most of those medication bills go to people will serious chronic illnesses and can easily cost >$1000/month.
The effect of paying for medication on a persons financial stability can't be discredited in this discussion.
> You linked to a provincial health service for B.C. residents. That's not Canadian coverage and I don't see where it says that medication is covered.
Your profile says your in Toronto did you recently move from the states? The Canadian constitution divided healthcare into a the provincial area of responsibility.[1]
> Most citizens in Canada don't have free (or reduced cost) medication unless they are below the poverty line.
Might not appear so to you but most are a reduced price. Relevant quote "A Canadian law authorizes a review board to order a price reduction whenever the price of a drug exceeds the median of the prices in six European countries plus the United States."[2]
I think you've misread my comment. I said prescription medication is not covered by Canadian healthcare, except for some provincial policies which cover some low-income families.
Price control for medication != free medication for Canadians or the removal of the burden of paying for medication for people with a serious health condition, which can still be significant. Which was the original point of the OP (in addition to the cost of dental work).
You can also lose your life on a waiting list in Canada. Not much purpose in having $23K in the bank but being dead.
For sure you're not going to get a $23K bill for a bug bite but you will pay $3000/month for chemo, etc. Lots of things aren't covered by medicare, and they're quite expensive. Canada is more like a $23K bill for getting cancer, or other long term/terminal illnesses.