>Some people think single payer system is the solution but then when they talk to Canadians they realize that's not the solution either.
I'm sorry but I don't understand this discourse. While we have gripes with the state of some hospitals that fall short of first world standards (e.g. Gatineau Hospital) and wait times for specialists for non-urgent care (it can take 2-3 months to see a dermatologist after referral for non-cancerous skin conditions in Manitoba for example), I really can't think of more than 3 Canadian residents having ever said in my lifetime that they prefer the US system (and for all of them, their objection had to do with the fact that the government funds treatments they don't like for gender dysphoria and abortions, not that they felt the US system was an effective economy of scale).
On top of that, there is a myth perpetuated in the US that we are constantly at the brink of a healthcare system collapse. We are certainly not - there is room for improvement and health inequalities that we must address, but to say that we're all an ER wait away from dying is simply untrue. [1]
I have been on the receiving end of health care inequalities here in Canada (in Manitoba and Quebec), but I don't go as far as to write off the achievement of having set up an effective single payer health system in a federal state.
Then it'll come down to an individualist vs a collectivist take.
Triage priorities in referrals are an acceptable trade-off for broadly improved access to health care. The reality is that my eczema doesn't need to be seen before someone else's melanoma.
While I appreciate being able to see a specialist earlier in the US with my health insurance, I know that many ordinary American citizens aren't able to at all and that my insurance displaces incentives to serve underserved communities. I'm not yet an American citizen so I will not preach what the US should or should not do, but I do think it is unfortunate that is the case and I hope that improves.
I'm sorry but I don't understand this discourse. While we have gripes with the state of some hospitals that fall short of first world standards (e.g. Gatineau Hospital) and wait times for specialists for non-urgent care (it can take 2-3 months to see a dermatologist after referral for non-cancerous skin conditions in Manitoba for example), I really can't think of more than 3 Canadian residents having ever said in my lifetime that they prefer the US system (and for all of them, their objection had to do with the fact that the government funds treatments they don't like for gender dysphoria and abortions, not that they felt the US system was an effective economy of scale).
On top of that, there is a myth perpetuated in the US that we are constantly at the brink of a healthcare system collapse. We are certainly not - there is room for improvement and health inequalities that we must address, but to say that we're all an ER wait away from dying is simply untrue. [1]
I have been on the receiving end of health care inequalities here in Canada (in Manitoba and Quebec), but I don't go as far as to write off the achievement of having set up an effective single payer health system in a federal state.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2020/10/19/925354134/frame-canada