Well that’s the thing: I can choose to pay nothing at all here (work coverage) or go as a private customer (I pay in full). I did the latter for the implant things, cuz it ain’t no accident or disease, and I’m squarely the sole cause of my visit to the doctor. So I saw no reasons to have society pay for them.
So it was entirely out of my pocket. As such, I would have expected them to cut me some slack. But no: I think they have socialized medicine reflexes they just can’t step out of.
That’s crazy. It’s not sensitive information or anything…
Funny story about that: I got a call from the Belgian Red Cross the other day, because I hadn’t donated for some months. I had left for Finland but they didn’t know. So I told them I don’t live in Belgium anymore. And then just before hanging up, I told the lady:
“Before you go, since I got you on the phone: I don’t remember my rhesus goup. I know my ABO, but I can’t remember if it’s + or -. Could you tell me? It’d save me a blood test”
“Sure” she said “It’s minus.” Pause… and then “Oh no no wait! I can’t tell you over the phone actually! Aaw crap… I take it back okay? I haven’t told you!”
“Okay ma’am. Since you haven’t told me: well, thanks a buncharoonie for not telling me! That wasn’t very helpful!” I said with mock indignation.
We had a good laugh with that one
I might just try telling them point blank that I want a souvenir photo for the kids I don’t have. Oftentimes raw honesty works best.
That most certainly wouldn’t elicit the reaction you’d expect from a Finn. I’m not even sure what kind of reaction I would get, as I haven’t been in a scrape with anyone here yet. I think the doc might just decide to politely ignore me
That’s so weird. I’ve had blood tests and asked my doctor to send me the results and was given pages upon pages of info, they’ve given me everything I’ve ever asked for. Maybe they could smell your US blood and refused
yeah… i feel like this is more of an “unwritten rule” vs policy… but who knows…
hah well this was for my wife, while she was Canadian, in Canada… she is now a naturalized US citizen and we live in the US… but man… Canada isn’t looking too bad these days… especially if we can ride the border… maybe we can get the best of both worlds… you know, once the border opens up again.
yeah… she always had it in her mind to do it anyway… just easier once you’re married to a citizen.
Fun fact! In theory there is no “dual citizenship” as far as the US is concerned. During the swearing-in ceremony you swear that you forgo any allegiance with any other nation and will, if called upon, defend the United States and the constitution, including fight with the US military against any and all foreign adversaries including your country of origin… it’s not exact words but it’s the gist.
Also there were feds at the event you could ask questions of and we asked point blank about keeping her Canadian citizenship… they played it very “by the book” and would only respond with something akin to “The US does not recognize any previous citizenships of any naturalized US citizen.” … though I can’t recall the exact words. The most telling was when I followed that up with “ok but she can keep her Canadian passport right?” and they went stone faced and said “If you are caught crossing into the US with a US passport and a passport from any other nation, you will be in violation of blah blah blah law and could face federal charges for impersonation or blah blah blah (i can’t remember).” and basically what I got from this is that the US gov does not officially allow or recognize “secondary” citizenships… you are a US citizen and only a US citizen, or you are not a US citizen… but of course this is a “soft law” that is basically unenforced… but if you piss the wrong people off or the wrong people come into power coughtrumpcough then you could be a world of hurt if you try carrying any passport other than your US passport.
Yes, practically speaking. The U.S. government does not require naturalized U.S. citizens to relinquish citizenship in their country of origin. Although the Oath of Allegiance to the United States speaks of renouncing “allegiance and fidelity” to other nations, U.S. immigration law does not explicitly address the topic of dual citizenship. The best summarization of the U.S. government’s position on dual citizenship lies in a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, which explains that “a person may have and exercise rights of nationality in two countries and be subject to the responsibilities of both.” The U.S. Department of State also has a more technical discussion of dual citizenship.
So basically the answer is no, but we let it slide… until we decide not to. Don’t ever let someone say “it’s allowed because I got away with it” when it comes to things like citizenship or national security type shit… you’ll be ghosted so fast… I mean, let’s do a thought experiment… they take you into custody and want to fuck your shit up… they find your Canadian passport… and your US passport… but they decide they want to fuck you over and deny your rights as a US citizen so they “misplace” your US passport and treat you like a foreign national on US soil… away go all your rights… and even if you prove later you were a US citizen (assuming you survive to make a fuss), your carrying of a Canadian passport will automatically make your case super flimsy.
Yeah I was aware of the single-sided dual-citizenship thing. Many countries do that - i.e. don’t recognize your “other” citizenship(s) but your other countries do.
I was more thinking in terms of the Canadian side of things. As in, when your wife wants to undo the damage, she’s kept her Canadian status to do so seamlessly. And she can haul you along and you in turn can request Canadian citizenship based on family ties.
Yeah we are already applying for the kids … they automatically get it basically, just need to file. For me it’s a bigger pain… but it’s possible. The way back for her isn’t without some difficulty… she’s not paid into the medical or provincially socialized automobile insurance systems for well over a decade… there may be some fees and fines to pay to get back into the groove up there… but yeah should be pretty straightforward.
Here’s something else she might want to think about, that I discovered as I moved from (evil socialist ) country to country: when you arrive in a country you haven’t contributed to national health insurance in, they take you alright, but they exclude pre-existing conditions.
So for example, any knee problems I’ve had since I got my prosthesis haven’t been covered in any of the countries I’ve visited subsequently. Here in Finland, if I ever have GERD again because the surgery I had in Belgium fails, it’s not covered either. When you join the local social security, they have a pretty long questionaire - and don’t you lie in it because they’ll know.
So if you guys plan on relocating, do so before you grow too old and start having health problems in the US.
Something to think about.
EDIT: and another thing (for employees, probably not for you): the first year you arrive, you don’t get vacations, since vacations are based on the time you worked the previous year. It seems silly, but since I lived in 7 countries, I missed out on 7 summer holidays. It kinda sucks
I can only become a 2nd class Canadian citizen if I wanna keep my Australian citizenship, which is fine, it just means that if I am ever convicted of treason or terrorism, I’ll be deported.
I can confirm that!
I went to the doctor as a newbie for the local social security with a mild flu, they did and extender research on my medical history, but mean the extended as they collected every report of e-v-e-r-y time I visited a doctor in my life including dentist.
