BC Kid Raises Money for Friend's Surgery in the U.S.

[bush_cheney2004]

A British Columbia youngster and his father have raised about $24,000 to help pay for a friend's surgery in the United States. Apparently the procedure in Canada is more invasive. Should BC Health pay for the more promising surgery in New Jersey ?

Quinn said when he learned his friend Brayden Grozdanich needed expensive surgery in the U.S. that would cost $20,000 he wanted to help.

"When I got home, I wanted to tell my mommy and daddy that I wanted to do a lemonade stand to help raise money to help him," Quinn said.

Brayden's right arm and leg have been affected by cerebral palsy, and he's been going through painful physiotherapy so he can walk. But now, his father said, the boy needs surgery available in New Jersey that — if successful — could have him walking without braces.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/maple-ridge-boy-s-lemonade-stand-raises-24k-for-friend-s-surgery-1.2698208

[scribblet]

Interesting.. I'm of the opinion that the healthcare should pay the amount it would cost if it were done in Canada, probably less than they need but likely would make it affordable.

I looked into a less invasive surgery for my back problem, a procedure not available in Canada. I know two people who have had it done and it worked for them. OHIP (Ontario) only covers what they consider 'evidence based' and does not cover 'experimental'

procedures, even though there is a high success rate in the U.S. they are not recognized in Canada.. I know they sometimes will pre-approve a procedure which they will then pay for, but they wouldn't pre-approve mine. I guess B.C. is the same.

This sounds similar but is 2007, I suspect they are pre-approving fewer surgeries now. http://www.metroland.com/page/Cross-BorderCare

Long waits, unavailable procedures and poor physician access are driving record numbers of Ontarians to seek treatment south of the border and sometimes overseas.

A Metroland Special Report on Cross Border Care shows:

• A 450 per cent increase in OHIP approvals for out-of-country care since the beginning of this decade, a period of explosive growth in new technologies and therapies not covered or available here. The province agreed to fund 2,110 procedures or treatments in 2001, and 11,775 last year.

• Patient demand has created a new breed of health-system navigators, known as medical brokers, who find U.S. options for the growing number of Ontario patients who elect to pay for medical services south of the border.

Edited July 7, 2014 by scribblet