Quote from condorll:
Nothing is provided for "free" in Canada. Their outragous income tax rates cover the cost of their substandard (by US standards) health care.
Do you really want to pay for US Health care for some 30 million illegals? Do you want to stand in a line behind millions of them to get Health services? Canada's health care system is on an "urgency" basis, which means your turn comes up when more critical patients have been serviced. You can wait a long long time if your personal situation is not deemed urgent.
True scenario in Canada:
You go to see the Doc, and he is concerned you have cancer. Schedules you for an MRI or a CatScan. You will most likely wait 6-8 weeks for that Catscan. The alternative is going to a private Canadian clinic and paying $1-2,000 for the tests. There is your free healthcare, friend.
In the US a CatScan will usually be scheduled within a day or two.
I grew up in Toronto and have lived in California for over 20 years. I have also worked in various hospitals in both countries.
It truly is amazing how many Americans readily accept and defend the lies and propaganda that U.S. insurance companies have perpetuated over the years about the Canadian healthcare system.
Medical care is not free. It is paid through taxes but to say that Canadian income tax rates are "outrageous" is nonsense. For filing jointly in 2007, the Canadian max fed rate is 29% on taxable income over $120,887 vs., the U.S. rate of 28% of taxable income over $128.500, 33% over $195,850, and 35% over $349,700. In the province of Ontario the max rate is 11.16 on taxable income over $70,976 whereas in California the max rate is 9.3% on income over $86,934.
Medical treatment is usually given in a timely fashion. The argument that people have to wait for months for medical care is nonsense. In the past few years I have lost my father, uncle, and two cousins to cancer. Currently, I have two other cousins who have been diagnosed with cancer. In each case there was never any wait to see the doctor or perform an MRI or CAT scan. Also, my mother underwent hip replacement surgery that was not urgent without any unnecessary delay. For the past few years she has received all the necessary follow-up home health care and equipment without any problems.
Iâm sure there are times when one will not be seen immediately if the medical problem is not urgent but this is no different than in the US. I am fortunate to have access to doctors at UCLA and Cedar-Sinai but sometimes I have to wait several weeks to see my doctors. I have also come across many patients expressing this frustration in California.
Of course there will always some people who will be dissatisfied with medical care regardless of the type of system but Iâm certain that the vast majority of Canadians would never chose the US system over the Canadian one. I certainly have never met one.
Young medical doctors are not flocking to the States. This may have been true up to the 1980s because potential income was higher. I personally knew of a few who made such a move. However, with the increased dominance of managed care, this financial incentive has decreased dramatically. In the US doctors have to constantly fight insurance companies, are inundated with paperwork, and have to wait for months before being reimbursed. Some have even stopped being providers for some of major insurance carriers, with one of my doctors being one of them. By the way, most of the doctors I have come across support a system similar to Canadaâs. It is only the greedy ones who oppose any change. It is this same greed that gave rise to managed care in the first place.
To say that the health care in Canada is substandard by US standards and far more advanced and sophisticated is again pure nonsense. Major hospitals in Toronto (e.g., Mount Sinai, Sunnybrook, and the world-renown Hospital for Sick Children) are top notch and superior to many American hospitals.
The irony is that the U.S. has some of the best doctors in the world but one of the worst medical systems among industrialized nations. I hope that this situation will someday change. However, I think this take a long time due to greed, distorted priorities, and lack of concern for fellow Americans that many politicians and Americans seem to harbor. We need a much more humane medical system that will insure all of its citizens and free seniors from worries about health care coverage, as is the case with the Canadian system.
