How bad could the Canadian healthcare system really be?

The health care issue in the U.S. certainly has blood pressures rising. However, regardless of the side one takes, most will agree that there are some aspects of the distribution system that could be better.

One doesn't need to look far for complaints about the long waits for medical attention in Canada, the one problem that seems to get the most play in the debate whenever a comparison is made with the Canadian system.

That's nothing new to those of us living out in the U.S. boonies. Long waits for a doctor's appointment are routine. And once in the front door, there is usually another long wait to actually see a doc. Maybe a Canadian style system in the U.S. would mean even longer waits. But let's see what a Canadian has to say about it.

DenverPost.com has an article titled Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths by Rhonda Hackett in which she attempted to bust some myths about the Canadian health care system. This excerpt addresses the long waits:

Myth: There are long waits for care, which compromise access to care. There are no waits for urgent or primary care in Canada. There are reasonable waits for most specialists' care, and much longer waits for elective surgery. Yes, there are those instances where a patient can wait up to a month for radiation therapy for breast cancer or prostate cancer, for example. However, the wait has nothing to do with money per se, but everything to do with the lack of radiation therapists. Despite such waits, however, it is noteworthy that Canada boasts lower incident and mortality rates than the U.S. for all cancers combined, according to the U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group and the Canadian Cancer Society. Moreover, fewer Canadians (11.3 percent) than Americans (14.4 percent) admit unmet health care needs.

President Obama has bitten off a big chunk to chew on, and he hasn't so far provided much reason to place any great confidence in his ability to solve problems. But maybe somehow, someway he will get lucky and a better health care distribution system might result from all of this. In the meantime those of us in flyover country will be patiently enduring the long wait under the present system for our doctors' appointments.

For an argument in favor of the status quo see 10 Surprising Facts about American Health Care.

Comments

[Redman]

All I know is that when Teddy Kennedy needed brain surgery he didnt go out of the country to get it.

[Geo]

Due to his name, fame and job, Teddy probably has access to the better health care than most of the rest of us could expect. But, yes, the best probably is in the U.S.