I got a tooth removed from my skull and all I got was a $600 bill and T3s
Complaints about Canada's healthcare system
Whenever I talk to Americans about my dental woes and how much it costs to get simple, arguably very essential things done, they always say “I thought you guys had free healthcare.”
I’m here to tell you, dear non-Canadian readers, that while we do have a universal healthcare system in Canada, it excludes dental, prescriptions, and vision. You can also only get some mental health care covered, just not long-term counselling.
Sometimes when I complain about these things not being covered, Americans seem to think I’m ungrateful for everything else being covered. I need to make it very clear that I am very glad I don’t have to pay for a simple doctor visit or hospital stay. But I do feel the effects of the aspects not covered, considering I have always had genetically fucked up teeth, I wear glasses, and I have pretty bad mental health, and therefore need long-term counselling AND prescription medication. So while we’re lucky here in many ways, it’s still very fucked up that it only covers some things and not others that are deemed less “essential” I suppose.
Canada is rolling out a dental plan for people under a certain income threshold, but it’s currently only available for seniors, children, and people with a disability tax credit certificate for 2023. I won’t be covered under it until some time in 2025. Pharmacare has been a topic of discussion too, and several provinces have their own pharmacare programs, but you have to actively apply for them and know of their existence in order to get any benefits. Plus, the oral contraceptive I use isn’t even covered under BC’s pharmacare program.
But back on the topic of dental.
I had to get a tooth extracted last week. I broke the tooth in the spring, it had been cracked before that. My job offered me no health benefits, so I had to pay for all my dental care out of pocket. I was supposed to get a root canal initially, because it’s obviously preferable to try to save the tooth rather than remove it altogether, but that would’ve cost me around $2000, because the roots of my tooth were shaped all weird and would require a specialist. I had to pay said specialist $200 just for the consultation.
So I had to start saving up $2000 extra for this root canal. But my job barely paid me enough to cover rent, so it was taking an extremely long time. Enough time passed of me experiencing sometimes excruciating pain from this tooth, so I decided to just get it extracted because it costs less. I made my appointment for my extraction, where I was given an estimate of $617, and a week later I lost my job.
I still had to get this tooth pulled, lest it cause me more pain and suffering and potentially an infection. So I got it pulled on Wednesday. They had to do a full-on surgical extraction, and I needed sedation, so it was basically as expensive as an extraction can get. Sure enough, it was $617. To get a tooth removed that could eventually kill me if I never got it dealt with. To get a tooth removed that was causing me enough pain that it was hard to eat.
While I’m happy that a dental care plan will be available for me soon, I think it came too late. Dental should’ve been covered from the start. Nobody should have to suffer from dental problems for long periods of time because they can’t afford it. Hell, I don’t even think it should be means tested. Everyone should have access to free dental care. Oral health matters a ton. So now, I’m down one molar and $617.
Other Sam news
I had an opinion piece published in The Maple! I wrote about how David Pugliese’s reporting on Ukrainian Nazis in Canada is deeply important work, and the way he’s been accused of being a Russian agent is ridiculous and baseless. Give it a read.
Track of the week
A few years back when Spotify’s discover feature was actually good, I found Raingurl by Yaeji and loved it a ton. This week in one of those Spotify mood playlists I came across booboo by Yaeji, and it goes hard. The fact that it later samples raingurl made me really happy.
The signs as open tabs on my phone
Aries - Google search for “when can i drink alcohol after tooth extraction”
Taurus - White Spot menu
Gemini - Wikipedia entry for “Etymology of California”
Cancer - A photo of Big Structural Bailey
Leo - Know Your Meme entry for “Fucking the text man for texts”
Virgo - “How to prevent dry socket” on Healthline
Libra - Google search for “hunter biden dick”
Scorpio - A selfie of Hunter Biden smoking a cig
Sagittarius - Wikipedia entry for “Camino de Santiago”
Capricorn - Wikipedia entry for “Avro CF-105 Arrow”
Aquarius - Wikipedia entry for “Saskatchewan New Democratic Party”
Pisces - Google search for “wallace and gromit rat”