Public Heathcare Scheming

Seems like it's time I move Toronto up a few notches in my list of future "to vacate in" destinations. For in order for me to be eligible for OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) coverage, I must be physically present in the province of Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period. God knows I'm less than healthy. And under the Hong Kong government's scheming public healthcare scheme, medical expense is what will ultimately leave me with but half a kidney, bankrupt, and sleeping in a dumpster under some bridge before becoming landfill just north of Tseung Kwan O.

I can still remember the annoyance of having to throw in an extra $15 for something priced at $100 from the days when I lived in Toronto. Ontario's 8% provincial sales tax and 7% goods and services tax do take some getting used to, not to mention the big chunk of your salary that gets chopped off before the paycheck even reaches your hands. But (for me anyway) the comfort of knowing that your government's got your back in medical expense justified almost every dime.

OHIP covers a comprehensive range of medically necessary health services, except dental. Under this scheme, medical consultations, as well as annual full-body checkups and eye exams, are free. Sure, if you decide to treat whatever you're diagnosed with, the meds can still be moderately pricey or outrageously pricey depending on the pharmacist you choose. But hey, there's no free lunch. For the least part, OHIP does ensure that we’re all being fed and nobody's paying caviar prices for soggy fish balls. Hence residents are encouraged to get diagnoses for the most minor of health problems, as opposed to Hong Kongers’ growing reluctance to seek consultation unless they actually believe they have something deadly.

Those of us in the middle class in Hong Kong must learn to ignore common symptoms in the nasal cavity and the digestive system so as to cut our wallets some slack. My stockpile of over-the-counter drugs at home makes Jamie Oliver’s herb cabinet look amateur.

It’s not like our government is being cheap about all this though. The Standard told us “The government warned public health-care expenditure, which consumes HK$22 of every HK$100 in tax revenues, will take up half of every dollar collected by 2033.” Say what? Is it just me or does “22% of tax revenue” sound like child’s play compared with Ontario’s “42% of all revenue”? If that sales tax implementation Henry Tang's been talking about brings us a healthcare system that’s half as out of whack as OHIP, it might just be legit.