Federal regulations discourage provinces from emulating other countries that deliver universal health care without long wait times.
wait lists
As is often the case in U.S. politics—though normally on the Democratic side of the aisle—Canada’s health care system was raised as a functioning alternative to the American model. Specifically, GOP front-runner Donald Trump described Canada’s health care system as working just fine.
You know things are bad when the best you can say is “at least it hasn’t gotten any worse.” That, essentially, is the main takeaway from the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s updated report on wait times for healthcare in Canada.
The heated and often emotionally charged debate over the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) hasn’t subsided despite it being the law of the land for more than four years.
A recent testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee by Dr. Danielle Martin, former head of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare, has given Canadians the chance to indulge in what may be a favourite pastime - criticizing the American health care system.
Waiting has become a defining characteristic of the Canadian health care experience. Patients stricken with illness, from mild to serious, must wait their turn for access to emergency care, family doctors, medical specialists, diagnostic scans, and treatment.
These delays, which can be quite substantial, impose needless costs on Canadians in terms of their economic, social, and mental well-being and can lead to less-desirable health care outcomes. Fortunately, this serious health care problem can be readily solved through policy reforms based on European successes.
In most places, if you spend more, you receive more in goods or services. The glaring exception is Canada's government-run health care system.