As a Canadian I'll chime in and say that I waited 6 months for knee surgery. In a way it sucked, but on the other hand it made sense. I waited 6 months because all I had was a meniscus tear, so I could still do many forms of exercise, drive, walk, run, and work. My chief limitation was my inability to do Judo and soccer.
So I waited for 6 months behind a number of people including those who had similar non-critical injuries but were diagnosed earlier and those who had severe knee injuries requiring reconstruction or replacement. Rationing was done on a need basis rather than my ability to pay. Some people may talk about how terrible this is, and to be honest I probably could have afforded the surgery in a "private" system. Then again, when I was much younger and needed my first knee surgery I would have been hosed in a private system. And no, I wouldn't have been covered under my parent's policy in a private system.
Furthermore, when I have required urgent care, I have received it immediately. The longest I have waited is a few hours in the emergency room. Close friends who have dealt with much more serious life-threatening diseases have started receiving treatment/surgery within a few days or even the same day.
So yes, I experienced the terrible gulag that are Canadian medical wait lists and it really wasn't that bad. The wait lists are based on triaging, rather than wealth, and having wait times based on medical decisions made by professionals rather than economic incentives seems a much more humane system to me. I understand that some will call this "unfair" but that just means our definition of fair is different.
So I waited for 6 months behind a number of people including those who had similar non-critical injuries but were diagnosed earlier and those who had severe knee injuries requiring reconstruction or replacement. Rationing was done on a need basis rather than my ability to pay. Some people may talk about how terrible this is, and to be honest I probably could have afforded the surgery in a "private" system. Then again, when I was much younger and needed my first knee surgery I would have been hosed in a private system. And no, I wouldn't have been covered under my parent's policy in a private system.
Furthermore, when I have required urgent care, I have received it immediately. The longest I have waited is a few hours in the emergency room. Close friends who have dealt with much more serious life-threatening diseases have started receiving treatment/surgery within a few days or even the same day.
So yes, I experienced the terrible gulag that are Canadian medical wait lists and it really wasn't that bad. The wait lists are based on triaging, rather than wealth, and having wait times based on medical decisions made by professionals rather than economic incentives seems a much more humane system to me. I understand that some will call this "unfair" but that just means our definition of fair is different.