Canadian Response To U.S Single Payer? (health care system, Canada, border)

[Motion]

If America adopted a universal single payer healthcare system and ended up having it's own waiting list problems what would this mean for these Canadians?

A doctor in Alberta has good news for patients without patience. He has a company that helps them jump the waiting lists by getting them medical referrals out of the country.

Dr. Philip Rutter runs Private Care International Agency. His Web-based company charges people $500 to find medical options for them in the United States or Europe.

Jumping the waiting list - and the border

[Motion]

What exactly causes these waiting lists? Is it too many people using the system at once because it's free?

[mississauga75]

Originally Posted by Motion

What exactly causes these waiting lists? Is it too many people using the system at once because it's free?

Yes, in cases there are long waiting lists. My experiences with the Canadian health care system in Toronto has been positive and my father recieved timely and quick response and beat cancer as a result. However, there are many horror stories out there that I have heard. It is far from being a perfect system just because it is free.

[Peter Courtenay Stephens]

The primary problem with singlke payer is cost. Government because of it's ability to steal er sorry Tax has no incentive to keep costs in line like a multiple payer would. As an example andthis is admitedly from the mid 1990s is that kentucky had more MRIs than all of canada and so in Canada there was a very long wait. my friends in Missisauga are sophisticated people and they hate single payer and prefer if they are able to come to the States.
If you think you like the IRS you will love government adminstered sick care.
By the way, sick care is a much more correct term for the industry that is referred to as helath care because it is not about preventing sickness but, about covering up the symptoms once you have a problem. I prefer to take preventive action and do the things that Drs don't want you to do to prevent sickness and stay healthy.

[Motion]

Teen hurt a year ago awaits knee operation

Orthopedic surgery list has 19,023 names

People pushing for a universal single payer healthcare system for America should read articles like this one. I hope this kid got his surgery by now.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by Motion

If America adopted a universal single payer healthcare system and ended up having it's own waiting list problems what would this mean for these Canadians?

You are ignorant. There are no waiting lists in Japan or Holland and both have single payer. Single payer does not have to mean, as in Canada, the government owns and runs all of the hospitals. Several countries have government run (or heavily subsidized and regulated) insurance with free choice of private providers.

This has been pointed out in thread after thread yet you keep coming back with the same lies so I am left to conclude that you are deliberately lying.

[mississauga75]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

You are ignorant. There are no waiting lists in Japan or Holland and both have single payer. Single payer does not have to mean, as in Canada, the government owns and runs all of the hospitals. Several countries have government run (or heavily subsidized and regulated) insurance with free choice of private providers.

This has been pointed out in thread after thread yet you keep coming back with the same lies so I am left to conclude that you are deliberately lying.

Sensible post. Canada no longer has a model health care system, but that doesn't mean it is because of universal health care, it is probably a structural problem.

[EinsteinsGhost]

What has single payer system got to do with waiting? (if we ignore the fact that no structure for a plan has even been laid out yet before it is "analyzed and compared" to existing systems)

Is it really better to eliminate patients by ensuring not all can have coverage, so hospitals and clinics are less crowded and accessible to a limited few?

[Motion]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

You are ignorant. There are no waiting lists in Japan or Holland and both have single payer.

Keep an eye on Japan's hospitals:

But while the patients may be healthy, the hospitals are in even worse financial shape than the doctors.

"I think our system is pretty good, pretty good, but no system is perfect," he says. "But 50 percent of hospitals are in financial deficit now."

So here's the weakness: While the United States probably spends too much on health care, Japan may be spending too little...

Japanese Pay Less for More Health Care : NPR

Prices need to be determined by the market don't they? Or else these fixed prices will catch up with you like they are in Japan.

[Motion]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

You are ignorant. There are no waiting lists in Japan or Holland and both have single payer.

According to this the Netherlands has a multi-payer system.

Healthcare Economist · Can a Multi-payer Financing reduce costs to Single-Payer Levels?