Canadians only please...Is your healthcare system really as bad as American Govt. makes it out to be?

Question

Canadians only please...Is your healthcare system really as bad as American Govt. makes it out to be?

Answer 1

Almost everything that you would go to a Dr. or hospital for is free.

Duh - and your tax rate is much higher than ours.

Answer 2

You would have to elaborate on bad. It seems some Americans think it's better to go bankrupt due to medical costs, or worse even die from a minor infection that can't afford to be treated, than to have to wait on a line to receive government provided medical treatment.

Answer 3

if your system was better than ours people would stop lying about ours. if americans knew the truth about canadian health care most of your politicans would be lynched

Answer 4

the bads outweigh the goods.

Answer 5

No.  Almost everything that you would go to a Dr. or hospital for is free.  The Dr.'s for the most part are compensated based on the procedure they perform through a fee schedule set by a government agency.  The lowest paid Drs. earn over $100K, most are more than double that and specialists earn well over $400K. Nurses, staff and capital costs are directly funded with tax money.  

It is not without problems though.  There are long waits in emergency rooms for non-critical problems.  There can be long waits for MRI's, cancer treatment, hip replacements and other surgeries.  Since it is a public system there is nowhere to go if you have $$ and pay to jump to the front of the line.  

These problems have been identified and a 'wait list strategy' in Ontario has been successful in reducing wait times with targeted funding and equipment purchases.  These problems are not a symptom of a public system they are the result of Dr. shortages, more expensive treatments and an ageing population.  Societal problems which all developed nations are facing.  In Canada however we are all forced to bear the impact of these forces on the system equally.  In a privatized system these problems could be avoided by healthy and wealthy people and would be more intensely felt by the poor and the sick.