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The study you are referring to is by a conservative think tank, "Fraser", they claim that 63,000 Canadians went out of country for healthcare. The way they came to that figure is a little odd, but even if it's accurate- there is no breakdown on which country they went to for healthcare, it could be that a number of them went to one of the Eastern European Countries that are known for cheap hair transplants, or to Mexico for dental or plastic surgery. In any case given that the population of Canada is 37,000,000 it looks like about .17% of the population left that country for some form of healthcare. In 2016 1.4 million Americans went outside of the US for healthcare which is about .43%
There is also the fact that many Canadians who seek healthcare in the U.S. are in the U.S. already and suffered a medical issue. Some are on vacation, others snowbirds. They are counted in the numbers. BruSan linked a study where it was way over half who fit into that category.
I would be gleeful if I had coverage as they do in CA. ER wait lines are prioritized based on who needs care first/most. Like everywhere else.
Fear of long wait times is overblown far as I can see. Yes, people may wait longer for elective treatment/procedures in exchange for great, accessible healthcare at no or minimal cost. No fighting insurance companies, no meeting deductibles, no being denied after the fact, no hours of dealing with bureaucratic automated carp, no inhumanity...
My dearest friend (a dual citizen CA/US got Medicare a few years ago and that was great. He then retired to CA and it’s beyond better).
Is it worth paying a little more in taxes to have good, ongoing healthcare that costs little or nothing? Yes. Look at the studies. It’s cheaper.
I hope you don’t get to experience walking in to an ER in the US in a major city you might be surprised how long it takes to be seen by a doctor or admitted
Last year our good friend called us from the ER at the major local hospital. She had been transported by ambulance from her assisted living facility to the ER as she was having problems. This is a lady who had been battling systematic problems from an infection for a period of months.
She was left on a gurney in an ER hallway for 28 hours. There was a flu problem overloading the ER that week. She called us on a borrowed cell phone as hers had run out of charge. We launched a rescue mission alerting other family and friends and got her admitted and into a room in an hour or so.
Thank about it... a mid 80s female suffering from a systemic infection placed in the middle of an ER for a day with a flu problem in full force. She died 6 weeks later.
Definitely free at point of service, no co-pays, no deductibles. But certainly paid for through taxes.
Which I figured was a given.....
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