By the time you read this, if all goes well, it will be day five with my new lens. My left eye should now be the best it’s ever been.
As for many people, ever-advancing cataracts had made many things, including driving, challenging. The big bonus when both eyes are completed should be no more prescription glasses for the first time in more years than you need to know.
However, all these changes came with a price — a big one for someone newly retired. The Cadillac of lenses my left eye is now sporting required a layout of $502 and a further $100 of prescription eye drops. Not chump change no matter who you are.
Recently I covered a meeting about health care privatization. The two guests brought to the Coast by the COSCO seniors council group talked a lot about what would happen if the courts were to allow doctors to opt out of the medical services plan and directly bill patients for their services. It would, they said, mark the slippery slope of the end of universal health care for every Canadian.
I contend there has never been a level playing field in three major areas of health care. Many Canadians cannot afford even the most basic dental, eye or prescription services.
If you’re like many in this country struggling on minimum wage or old age benefits, a trip to the dentist for cleaning or X-rays is well beyond your means. Many dentists do pro-bono work, especially when young children are involved, but I wonder if that’s where the largesse should come from. Why does our medical system not include dental care for all? And why should some children born with unsightly crooked teeth be doomed to a life of not smiling just because their parents could not afford the necessary corrective measures.
The eye care profession presents a similar challenge to a lot of people. A few years ago the government decided it was no longer necessary to cover basic examinations. Apparently there were many more important things our taxes needed to go for, such as new furnishings in the legislature. Consequently, some parents now have the choice between eating or correcting their school-age children’s vision. At the other end of the spectrum, seniors no longer get their eyes checked as often as needed, and the new glasses that would make their lives much safer go unpurchased.
The cost of prescriptions is increasingly becoming out of reach for Canadians who are not covered under any extended health plan. Imagine having to decide if your child needs something to eat more than they need the medicine that will ease their chronic breathing problems. It’s a reality many face. For older folks who may require more pills to give them a decent quality of life, again the question becomes do they eat or do they buy the drugs they need.
I realize none of these questions are easy ones. But perhaps it’s something we all need to look at with new eyes.
