Originally Posted by gvitaly
Z 2nd Interview Part 4
I'm just going chronologically now, filling in the gaps. That's why this is the next section.
Canadian Healthcare and taxes
Starting @ 35:50 - 39:10
Interviewer: Aside from the cold what is the biggest difference you noticed living in Canada compared to the US?
Zadorov: Well probably it's the healthcare.
I: Healthcare?
Z: Yes, because I have a family I noticed the difference. Things like doing vaccines for the children, going to the dentist if something happens, and doctor appointment. You have to wait for 3-4 months until you get an appointment.
I: In Canada you have to wait for 4 months?
Z: Yeah, even if you're an NHL player.
I: Why?
Z: Because of the free healthcare system. In the US all the NHL players automatically receive the best insurance money can buy. If a regular person were to buy it, it would cost him around $30,000 a year. We get that insurance from the NHL for free. Whenever you call a doctor in the US, they ask you "what kind of insurance do you have?". As soon as they hear the kind of insurance we have they roll down the red carpet. For example when you need to do a vaccine for your kid, you go there the next day. They do the vaccine, and in addition they give you a bunch of extras, try to give/sell you extra drugs and so on, because the insurance covers all of it.
Here everything is free, that's why the healthcare system struggles with COVID so much. That's why they closed down Quebec and Ontario right now. They have a lot of cases, all the hospitals are overfilled, and they don't know what to do. It's just a bit of a broken system. In the US there are many times more hospitals, there are more beds in the hospitals, that's why the US has an easier time with COVID. Canada simply doesn't have vacant hospitals, or space within them. Despite that the hospitals have to take care of every person in need, because there is no insurance, and that's a free healthcare system.
Z: Well they call it a free healthcare system. It's not quite free though. Dental expanses go out of pocket, my NHL insurance doesn't cover it here, unlike in the US. You still have to pay something like $300 for an ambulance. In addition the taxes here are higher. The tax is 13% percent higher than in the US.
I: The taxes here are extremely high.
Z: It's 50%, well 49% in Alberta. In comparison in Colorado I had 37% and 6% tax, so 42%(I won't criticize his math here), so it's a 6-7% difference in salary. With my salary 6% is a lot more than the $30,000 an insurance would cost me. I understand that it probably works out better for the middle class - you pay higher taxes but get a free health care system. In my case I'd rather buy an insurance, and pay lower taxes.
Starting @ 44:30 - 48:25
I: Well this day was already worth it, because I finally understood why there are such strict restrictions in place. So that my audience understands, Canada is probably the strictest country with the strictest COVID restrictions. You can't go anywhere without a vaccine, you have to wear a mask everywhere. I guess that's why they are worried because if something happens they simply won't be able to handle it.
Z: You saw yesterday, they actually forced a couple of people(fans) to leave. People who weren't wearing masks.
I: Yes, they even ask people to leave mid-game. You only get one warning.
Z: You get two warnings. It's just that the healthcare system can't handle it. I think that the whole system is built incorrectly. In the US, you have a population of $360M, $30M live without insurance, that's quite a high number. People that can't afford it if they come to the hospital might get a $5,000 bill, that they pay until the rest of their life, but they still have to help that person if something happens. It's a double edged sword. For me personally, I'd rather pay for insurance and use it whenever I like, instead of waiting for 3 months to do a vaccine for my kid. My youngest had to do a set of vaccinations on after he/she(I think it's a she) turned one. The vaccines were from Hepatitis, Chickenpox and so on. And then there's the next set of vaccines that we're supposed to do at 1 year and 4 months. My youngest is 1 year and 4 months old already, and we have yet to do the first part of the vaccinations, so we have to wait.
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