Like you, I was skeptical of the anecdotal story on Canadian healthcare. No developed country could be AFU like that, right?
Then I had a ride with several other people on a shared van. Had to book it to go pick up a vehicle. Just 8 random people and I was minding my own business.
The two people behind me struck up a conversation. Young lady was visiting from Europe, while the gentleman was from Canada, but with a work permit living in the States. She was asking about living in the US vs Canada. I couldn’t help but overhear.
He was pretty agnostic on the tax part. “You pay now, or you pay later, nothing is free”. But he was especially bitter about the wait time for care in Canada. Even the simplest imaging, like a CT or ultrasound the wait is out into the months. Visiting a specialist is a huge PITA involving years of wait. During COVID, the entire primary care system simply collapsed with people waiting years, and doctors simply walking away from the profession.
The rest of the conversation veered into the cost of living in Canada, which has been on a Falcon 9 Heavy ride into orbit. Home ownership is simply out of reach for just about anyone considered middle class.
He concluded that he won’t ever go back.
Now this is a story about someone else telling a story, so take from it what you will. But I’ve heard enough first hand accounts to guess that at least some parts of it are in that orbit.
Now, I live in an area with lots of medical services, but also a lot of people who use the s4!t out of them. Huge megalopolis of 7 million people in a 3 county area. I’ve never waited more a week for an appointment, but if time was the essence, I was always seen in 2-3 days. Unless it was super specialized, most of my imaging appointments started with “we can see you tomorrow, does that work?”. I don’t use any recurring meds, but what Rx I have gotten has been waiting for me at the grocery pharmacy on the way home, with a token copay.
I did sign up for a Concierge medicine program, but that’s mostly for convenience.
Are there problems with healthcare in the US? Certainly, but quality and availability isn’t among those. The problems that exist are generated by the dudebros who make existence a PITA in all fields, not just medicine.
I know we don’t like the use the T word about there, but one of the things he did do was to push through a “truth in advertising” law that forces health care networks to publish their prices. That was fought bitterly by the health networks, which tells you all you need to know.
There is a metric eff ton of companies out there that all they do is make money on the flow of money, like ticks. They add no value, treat no patients, cure no disease. The problem is that it’s just like every other case of OPM, people don’t want to watch or care where the money goes. The same is true for student loans, other kinds of insurance, and many other areas.
There is a middle ground solution out there.
