If this is yet another attack on our public health system, I gotta say that you meet with some authoritarian doctors who minimize or dismiss (particularly female) patients’ concerns in any medical system. At least in the Canadian system you aren’t also dealing with some non credentialled bean counter at the insurance office preventing your doctor from prescribing the drugs or procedures you need. A system that is geared to maximizing profits for shareholders rather than maximizing best outcomes for patients is always gonna be more broken than one whose focus is on delivering health care for everyone.

Not that we couldn’t improve our Canadian health care system, but I have experienced both and believe me, unless you’re rich in the US you also experience long wait times. With the added fun of big co-payments and/or lifelong debt if anything major happens. I lived in the US for about 45 years and thankfully had no really major health issues — despite having a good job and reasonable insurance I would have had my savings pretty much torpedoed if I’d had any major operation requiring hospital stay.

In the US system when you visit a clinic because you’re in pain or have scary symptoms, basically the first paperwork you’re presented with is ‘how are you going to pay for this?” They want proof of ability to pay. The Canadian system felt like heaven by comparison. I’m sure if you’re filthy rich then the US system is more attractive because you can just buy your way to the front of the line and command the time of experts (even if you don’t really need the top tier medicos for your personal problem, you can still hire them). But if you’re just a regular person, you’re much better off in say BC. Alberta, I dunno what to say, y’all seem to be trying to become a satrapy of the US… what’s with that?