the Canadian system might be FAR better than the US system. But its an irrelevant comparison when the USA is broke, in a recession, has quadrupled the national debt which was already absurd, is printing trillions of dollars like their is no consequence.. then wants to make the multi-trillion dollar transition to a new and MASSIVE government bureaucracy when there is no money to pay for the shit we've spent money on in the last year... much less the coming years.

That transition with be a long and painful one assuming we had the money to do it to begin with.

The problems with medical care in the USA isn't a simple question of "socialized" or "privatized" and won't be solved that easily.

As mentioned above by Doug, the cost of great medical insurance in the US is GROSSLY over stated.

Quoted in case anyone with ADD is skimming this thread and might otherwise miss it.

From my years of working in the Canadian health system myself I can recall 100's of similar cases, similar in that the system came through for them as it did for you Shemp.

I see no "low expectations" at all in your example. :thumbsup

speaking OF sheep and rabble.. you guys, per capita, pay more to help less.

sounds real american.

Those who oppose public health care will use all kinds of propaganda to prevent it.

In my experience, when you really need it, Canadian health care is exceptional.

Every medical facility does triage and prioritizes patients, even in the good ol USA. Worst cases get seen first no matter how much cash you have in hand.

Here if it's serious you get seen, in my experience. If it's not that serious and you can wait, you *may* have to wait a while before being seen. In the ER it could be a few hours (some ER's are worse than others of course). If it's your family doctor referring you to a specialist you get an appointment booked for you and when that appointment day arrives you go see that specialist. If things worsen for you in the meantime then your priority changes.

The difference here is that everyone gets treated, the level of quality in health care is just as high here or higher as it is anywhere else including the US and everyone gets that level of care regardless of how much they can afford to pay.

AND we always have the option to head south and pay for treatment when needed.

Did you know Canadians under our system have a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate than the US? Among G8 nations as I said earlier we are second only to Australia, the US being last in the 8th spot. Among all nations the US is a pretty dismal 37th place, not that great for a nation that currently already spends the most money on health care than any other.

I'm not saying the US needs the same system as we have, as that would be extremely naive, but to deny that your system doesn't need some retooling is to be in denial. Where I do become a bit naive is in my hoping against hope that that retooling doesn't come at the price of negatively affecting people like yourself who ARE happy with the quality of care they and their families now have.

The US is a great country and has certainly made the biggest impression on the globe in modern history. It really should have a truly great health care system that looks after ALL of it's citizens. It should certainly be in the top 5 of all health care systems in the world, but it isn't.