To Chase and Louis:
There are numerous international studies that demonstrate year after year after year that overall health indicators are better and costs lower in single payer systems. There is just no way around that conclusion. I have said there are problems, as in any system. Yes there are accessibility problems — to be expected, in a system where users have free access. But any person with a working knowledge of the Canadian system will tell you that acute needs are met rapidly and very efficiently.
Just one indicator. The World Health organization ranks Canada 12th for life expectancy (overall, for both genders, 82.2 years in 2016) and the US is 31th (79,3 years). There are similar indicators for costs. OECD figures indicate that in the US, health care costs account for a whooping 17.2 % of GNP. The second highest one after that is Switzerland (12.4%) Canada: 10.3 %.
So choose your system: the one that costs 10.3 % of your GNP and says you might have to wait months for a procedure or the one that costs 17.2 % of GNP and says to 40 millions people «sorry! No money, no treatment».
Perhaps it’s a question of philosophy. I know that for Americans, the notion that society as a whole decides that everyone deserves quality healthcare and education irrespective of their financial means is anathema. In Canada, it’s an accepted principle. In our society, the difference in income between the richest and the poorest is much less than in the US, among other reasons because we pay more taxes to fund quality public services accessible to all.
America is a great country in many respects but health care is not one of them.
