Snowroo, it's not completely "free". Most likely your employer or hubby's employer pays for the monthly medical standard fee to provincial govn't health authorities --regardless of whether or not you use any medical service that same time period.

In British Columbia, it's:

$57.00 for single person per month
then there's sliding scale upward for families per month.

Alot of employers pay it as a benefit for employees or it's docked off the pay cheque. That's why we take it for granted. I'm not sure what the rate is in Ontario. It does vary by province.

I don't think hospital bed stays for a long time are automatic. It depends on medical condition, and if person has supplemental private health care insurance for their own rm., etc.

One notices the monthly benefit/fee, when one no longer has it..when one is unemployed or retired. (And an unemployed person still has to pay annual income tax.)

Then person must pay directly that monthly fee to govn't.

Still, yes it is alot better than south of the 49th parallel border.

And dental care is not free. Unlesss it's a benefit offered by employer, which might only cover a % of dental care costs per visit.

By the way, an emergency ambulance ride in B.C., is not free. It costed dearie about $50.00 or so..and the hospital was only 2 kms. down the road from where another cyclist collided into dearie and knocked him unconscious for a few min. or so.

But still yes, snowroo things could be whole lot worse.