Is American health care system better or Canadian ?

Question

Plz support your opinion with why you believe in it?

Answer 1

Are you kidding?  American health care is better as long as you stay healthy and don't need a doctor.  For-Profit health care is pretty worthless unless you're a millionaire.  

In America - when you get sick - it's like you're a dog - you can go lay somewhere and either recover or die.  Or you can bankrupt yourself and your family by going to a doctor.  What a great system!  

Answer 2

Both Canada's and the US health care system are majorly flawed. I am a Canadian so I do not have any first hand expeirience of the US health system but the impression I get is that every one involved (the doctors, drug companies, insurance etc.) is trying to get every last cent out of every sick person. Canada you can go to the doctor and not pay but if you need medication, it comes out of your own pocket(or else you have insurance) and you still have to pay for dental (or else you are insured). These 2 things are covered many other countries health care system.

Just a side note. Canada's health care system reportidly has very long wait times but in my experience that is not true. One time I went into the emergency room got an X-ray on my wrist and i was in and out of there in about a half hour  and did not pay a cent. I for one am glad to say I live in a country where that can happen.

Answer 3

I believe the Canadian system is superior, though by no means perfect.

I say this mainly because everyone in Canada has healthcare and access to the majority of necessary medical treatment they would require. You may think this is a waste of money if you are already wealthy (who cares about the poor?), but its more important then it appears on the surface..

I come from a upper-middle class family and my Dad had quite a few heart problems/diabetes over the years. Essentially we couldn't afford to live in the US if we would have had to of paid out of our pockets, even though we are reasonably well-off otherwise. However, in Canada we don't lose the shirts off our backs when these situations come up.

So you can see that access for everyone is important weather you are wealthy or not. I have much more to say about this topic, but really that's the main reason. Hope it helps.

Answer 4

It's a matter of opinion.  Is health care a right or a privilege?  At what point do you deny health care because there is not enough money to treat everybody for everything.  If you don't have to pay, then you will use the system more.  If you can't afford to pay, then you may go to see the doctor after the problem has gotten much worse.  Either way ends up costing more money to either system.  Canadian system insures everyone to get the basic medical coverage.  More complex exams such as a hip replacement, may require a long wait time when it is not considered emergent.  I have met Canadians who have crossed over to the US to have certain procedures done because they had to wait too long for it to be performed in Canada.  Both systems are flawed.  

You can site other systems like the British and the Swiss.  I believe the Swiss have the best system currently.  Anyone over 86 in Switzerland are denied costly care such as dialysis and transplantation so that money may be better spent on saving lives of premies and children.  

However, if the US were to push the drug companies to cut the costs of medications, you will see the price reduction to the other countries like Canada and the European nations will decrease and bring more accounting problems to their system.  In essence, the US is currently subsidizing the costs of medicine to the rest of the world.

Answer 5

are you rich?  or poor?

rich,  American.

poor, Canadian.

in between, good luck.

some years ago, i knew a lady who fell down and broke her hip quite badly.

she was in the hospital several months.

and it completely bankrupted her.

Canadian would have been better for her.

that said, it's the American system that supports the pharmaceutical companies.

w/o the prices they can charge in the US, the drugs that are available would be quite different.

likely not as many of them, and also less stringent testing before being sold to patients.

Answer 6

I believe the american system has far superior technology but it's not available to all americans due to the costs.  All canadians have access to health care regardless of how much money they have.  I think having access is more important than having the latest and greatest technology.

Answer 7

That is a really good question, and I can't give you a real answer because there are a lot of people a h**l of a lot smarter than me who are still trying to figure that out.  Here is the main points and maybe you can decide for yourself. (oh by the way Canadian is American, but I'm going to assume that you mean the U.S. Healthcare system Vs. the Canadian) In both the US and Canada when you get sick you go to the Dr.  In Canada that is paid for by tax dollars.  In other words everyone pays for healthcare, even if they don't use it.  In the US we either pay as we go or we purchase health insurance to cover our costs.  Now in both countries the Drs are well paid so that is not a big difference, just how the money gets to them is different. Now, I'm sure you have noticed that many of the healthcare breakthroughs happen in the US, along with the fact that most of the drug companies are here.

Ok so both have good Drs, in both you get good care, but in Canada you may have to wait for your healthcare because there are more people using it (after all they don't have to pay out of pocket).  Also the government gets to act as your HMO and they tell the Drs what services and procedures they can perform.  In the US if you are willing to pay for it you can get whatever procedure you want, and you won't have to wait long to get it done.  

Now tell me if the US healthcare system is so bad, why do some Canadians that can afford it come here instead of making use of the free health care they can get at home?

Yes our healthcare system in the US needs help, but this issue is a really complex one, that can't be fixed with a simple solution.

So I can't tell you which is better, but I can point out what is different.  Now you get to decide.

Take care and be healthy.

Answer 8

if you actually have insurance, american.

overall, canadian.

the question is.........is health care a right or a priveledge?

Answer 9

This is such a difficult question to answer because neither system is ideal.  To enter a rigorous discussion on this topic would require far more than a few paragraphs.

Answer 10

the Canadian system is socialized, so all citizens are entitled to "free" health care.  in the US, those without insurance must pay higher fees for the same level of care as those who can afford insurance.  the Canadians pay a higher income tax than the Americans for this service.