Why I Paid $8,700 for Knee Surgery

“About 10 years ago, I tore the meniscus in my right knee playing hockey. I work as an electrician, so losing the use of my knee was devastating, and since the injury happened on my leisure time, it wasn’t covered under B.C.’s WorkSafe program. I had to turn to the public health-care system. I wanted an MRI to see if I needed surgery. My doctor told me MRIs were moving quickly those days—I’d only have to wait a few months. But that was longer than my EI would last me. It was extremely frustrating: I was 28 years old, and I’d been working since I was 16. Hadn’t I paid enough taxes to deserve proper health care? Rather than lose money waiting, I went to an imaging clinic in Vancouver and got a private MRI for $950. 

The MRI report indicated I needed a meniscus scope. A couple of weeks later, a surgeon called and said he’d see me nine months later for a consult; the surgery would be a few months after that. Yet again I faced running down my EI and savings waiting for health care, coupled with an unreliable knee. Every now and then, the floating pieces of cartilage would lock up the joint—and one night it snapped all over again, leaving me rolling in agony. Within a few hours, my knee had swollen to double its size and had to be drained of fluid in an emergency room. 

At this point, my family doctor told me private surgery was an option. A couple of weeks later I had the operation done at a private surgical centre for $5,700. Six weeks after that, I was back on the job.

Most recently, I had another MRI done for a bulging disc in my back. It’s bothered me for about 20 years, but the pain had recently reached the point where my right foot went numb. I knew it would take an MRI and physiotherapy to fix, so I went back to the imaging clinic and paid $1,300 for scans. 

By accessing private care, I was able to save money and get on the job much faster. I don’t understand why the wait time for my knee surgery was so long. It’s not like I’m asking for a nose job. I’m just trying to get back to work.” 

—As told to Anthony Milton

This article originally appeared in the June issue of Maclean’s, alongside Christina Frangou’s investigation into the growing world of private health care in Canada.