I don't think it will affect me at all, I am fully insured already and I don't have prescription insurance at all, haven't needed it.

chisue - I am Canadian and I can assure you our drugs are NOT free! I am going to assume that the Cdn. in line was 65 or older - otherwise our provincial health case does not cover the cost of prescriptions (and note, each province has a different plan). If the drugs a senior Canadian takes are offered in generic form, then that is what they have to take - or pay the difference between the cost of the generic and the brand name. Many people are allergic to the non-medicinal ingredients in the generic meds - I have one prescription - other than my HRT - and I have to have the name brand. I was incorrectly given the generic brand once and didn't check - and I had a very bad reaction - I was allergic to 5 of the 6 fillers. People who are under 65 have their prescriptions covered by office plans or purchased plans. My husband's office plan has a deductible of $1,250 which is pretty darned high for people who hardly have any prescriptions. Premiums are high - 2 people are classified as "family" - I would prefer a separate category for a couple for obvious reasons. I have had to see a doctor when out of the country. I had to pay for the doctor's visit - in cash - and then buy the meds where I was and then go through our provincial health care system for partial reimbursement of the doctor's visit and then the office plan for reimbursement of the cost of the drugs - a lot of paperwork - plus I needed permission to see a doctor. We do not receive any vision or dental coverage under our provincial health care plans - and we pay very high taxes and fees while at the same time prices are rising, and services are being cut. Is our system better than that in the U.S. for the average Joe - yes. Is it what many Americans think - absolutely NOT! There are many Cdns. who have had to pay for medical care in the U.S. at their own cost because the wait would have been over a year to see a specialist. I am not trying to start an argument here - I was just pointing out that all is not as it seems.

I am sorry you are going through this - and worry it could be in our future in Canada as well. My sister-in-law works for Canada Post and has just signed new medical contracts that would require her meds to be mailed to her. She is not happy and neither is anyone else. One woman takes the same eyedrops as my husband and they have to be refrigerated until opened. What about during the freezing weather and boy have we had it this year. Then there is the summer warmth - what will that do to prescriptions meds? We hardly have any prescriptions but in the warmer weather I take a cooler bag with me to big up the meds and always go directly home with them. Then we have the thievery issue - and it happens. And of course, delays in the mail. I was surprised that Canada Post which has a very strong union in Canada is doing this. I suspect that Canada Post in an attempt to retain business will be trying to market mail-order drugs to private companies and would look kind of foolish if they did not do it themselves (even for a Crown Corp. - the shareholders being the taxpayer). I hope you get everything sorted out. I know exactly what you mean about getting a different person every time you call and the next person having no record of the previous call.

Thanks Robo. I appreciate it. There wasn’t a lot of information released to the public because apparently there was a gag order on it. Recently however, documentary on Oxygen was able to share a lot more information. As it turned out, Mary, the head nurse had discovered that many patients were receiving an fairly dangerous immune builder who didn’t need it. She canceled their treatments and made Fata aware. But it really alarmed her so she told another physician working there, Dr. Mungulay. He said Fata wouldn’t let other doctors near his patients, but while he was on vacation, Mungulay ended up treating one of his patients at the hospital anyway. She was newly diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and had just broken her leg. However, when he looked at the chart there was no pathology report and her bloodwork was in normal range. She didn’t have cancer. He took that to the clinic manager, who then did some digging and found even more inconsistencies. He went to an Attorney for whistle blowers, who then called the Justice Dept. Fata was arrested within 5 days of that call. And the reason they charged him with Medicare fraud instead of murder and charges directed at the pain he’d caused, the Justice dept said they knew they could prove the fraud case faster. It helps now to have a clearer understanding of what happened. Thanks Neetsie, this happened several years ago, there’s just been some documentaries about it on tv so my old threads have been revived