As is the case here, there are reasonable wait times for specialists. What many either fail to realize or conveniently omit is that wait times are longest for elective surgery.
Dr. Danielle Martin explains:
"I think it's critical for people to know that when Canadians are seriously sick--when the issue is urgent--they don't wait. So this myth that people are sort of dying in the streets, waiting for care is just that--a myth. Part of the reason that we know that is because our health outcomes are good. When compared to the U.S., outcomes for a whole variety of different diagnoses, including life expectancy, including infant mortality, all of these things actually, the Canadian system delivers as good or better care on average across the population than we see in the U.S."
According to the U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group and the Canadian Cancer Society, Canadians experience lower incident and mortality rates than we do for all cancers combined.
Ten years ago, 11.3 percent of Canadians reported unfulfilled healthcare needs compared to 14.4 percent here.
To claim we don't wait for specialists is naive.
Anyone who has had to schedule an appointment lately knows there is a specialist for everything in America, and getting in to see him or her is frustrating and cumbersome. Just making an appointment with primary-care physicians can involve unreasonable waits. This is due to a paucity of physicians. We need more doctors.
So does Canada. For all its benefits, healthcare in the southern region of the country, where the major cities are located, have shorter wait times because there are more doctors. Rural areas further north have fewer, increasing wait times.
The situation is similar here.
Another claim floating around out there is that Canadians pay WAY TOO MUCH in taxes and their healthcare is too expensive.
Also not true.
Dr. Danielle Martin explains:
"The United States pays more per capita for health care than any other country in the world. You're closing in on 20 percent of your GDP in terms of what you spend. We in Canada spend 10 percent of our GDP on health care services and we cover virtually every single resident of our land. That's what I think is the more important question... not how much you pay via taxes, but how much you pay via taxes, plus out-of-pocket, plus for private insurance, and who's in and who's left out, and who's at risk of not having coverage when they need it most. The last thing you need when you're sick is to be worried on top of your illness, about how you are going to pay for your care."
Healthcare costs are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States.
We pay a lot in taxes in the US (unless you're super-wealthy). Consider all the additional costs we incur in prescription drugs and doctor visit co-payments. For too many, it's too much.
Another complaint about our neighbors to the north is that the government chooses residents' doctors.
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