In the debate that is heating up in the United States over universal health care - a proposal that has many Americans searching for extreme Canadian examples to use against the idea - it's important to consider two things. One, that there are good and bad situations with the current Canadian system. Two, that there are good and bad situations with the current American system.
Ask any Canadian and they will tell you that that they wouldn't trade Canadian-style universal health care for anything. But that doesn't mean there aren't issues. As with any aspect of public life, whether government funded or not, there will always be aspects that people don't like or that don't work out as well as we would hope and, in light of those issues, sometimes change is difficult to initiate.
For example, the main issue Canadians have with American-style health care is that the whole system is based on whether or not you can pay for the health care. Just as Americans have heard some horror stories about the Canadian system, the main thing that makes Canadians cringe at our way are the stories we hear about someone being turned away from treatment by an American hospital because they don't have insurance.
Many Canadians feel that is simply unacceptable. Everyone deserves to be treated, and that treatment should be the same whether you're a multi-millionaire or a single mother struggling to make it in the Bronx. Your financial status should not determine whether or not you receive health care, and if you do receive health care, should not determine the quality of that health care.
Another issue Canadians see is the monstrous medical bills that come from just going to see a family doctor, which in many cases prevent people from seeking timely medical attention. Treating certain conditions early means that they won't turn into potentially more serious - and more expensive -situations down the road. Just the cost of having a baby can be over $10,000 and that's just for a normal delivery. Never mind if your baby is born prematurely and requires hospital care for months. Those Americans with good health care plans are fine, but what about those who don't.
In the Canadian system, it's already paid for. You go into the hospital and you don't have to worry about paying for the hospital room, the surgery and the drugs they use. It's all covered for everyone. You don't have to be worried about being turned away at the door because the doctor's afraid he/she won't get paid for treating you.
Canadians can make appointments with their doctor to address any health concerns, without having to worry about whether or not they will have sufficient money to pay for the consultation.
There are many issues facing Canadian health care. The three main ones are: 1) not enough family doctors 2) long waiting lists for more specific treatment 3) the transition - and resistance to - what is referred to as two-tiered health care.
Briefly, for the last 30 years or so, Canada has been losing many of its trained doctors to the U.S. because they get paid more in the U.S. There is money in private health care. Canadian doctors are still making more than the average Canadian, but for some the allure of thousands of dollars a year more is too enticing to ignore.
Canada has experienced long waiting lists for certain long-term treatments and unfortunately, no one really seems interested in taking the drastic step needed to change this. People need MRIs and surgeries and consultations. This is compounded by trained medical staff going to the U.S. and elsewhere for more pay and the fact that many doctors are retiring. Referrals for MRIs and CT scans are on the increase, which means a bigger strain on the only ones available - the ones in hospitals, which are publicly funded. This isn't the fault of the hospitals or the government. It's just a reality of having this extraordinary diagnostic technology available - everyone wants to use it.
Many Canadians believe the only way to resolve this issue is to establish "two-tiered health care" - to provide private MRI centers and other health care services so that those who can afford to pay to be treated can go there, and those on the provincially funded insurance plan (OHIP in Ontario) can still gain access to the treatment they need. This is actually beneficial because it lessens the wait times for the publicly-funded treatment centers. Many of those against "two-tiered" health care don't realize that we already have this situation - those that are richer than others that go to private health clinics in Canada or the U.S. for treatment, and those who can only rely on the provincial health care funding.
What doesn't help the waiting list or private health care issues at all is the fact that some provincial governments choose to stick their head in the sand and not even acknowledge the fact that there is a problem and that combining private and public health care in a new system could help solve many of our issues. The provinces should be picking up the tab for any Canadian who has to travel out-of- province or out-of-country to get the care they need. Unfortunately, government will be government and it continues to make things more complicated than they need be.
This is the lesson that Americans can learn from our Canadian system. An American government health care plan would guarantee everyone access to medical treatment when they need it. But that health care plan doesn't have to be exactly like Canada's. In fact, I would encourage an American-made solution to the issues that Canada has seen.
The United States is the only industrialized nation without a publicly-funded health care system. Since Americans have always been on the outer rim of trying new things and developing something bigger and better than everyone else, it is possible for the American system to work. The United States is recognized by most of the world for their medical expertise in a variety of areas. But, so much of this health care knowledge and expertise is not even available to its own citizens because they can't afford to pay for it.
This is a time of transition for everyone - finding jobs, trimming budgets, trying to make do with less. But whatever the current economic climate, people should not have to worry about the extra expense associated with being treated by a medical doctor. That is the advantage of a government insurance plan.
Even though the Canadian health care system has its flaws, many Canadians will not argue about the reason it was started in the first place - health care for everyone. A reliable health care system should be about making sure that everyone in society has access to medical care without worrying about the expense. If people have access to health care whenever they need it, then they can address potentially more expensive conditions early, actually saving tax payers and the system money. They will be able to live healthier, longer, more productive lives because they will have access to medical care that they couldn't afford to pay for before.
The solution to health care reform in the U. S. doesn't lie in not doing anything at all. I believe to do nothing is just as bad as some of the Canadian provincial governments sticking their heads in the sand and proclaiming that things are going to stay the same as they've always been. Someone once said that insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.
The solution to health care reform is to come up with a way that recognizes and addresses some of the issues that the Canadian system has seen and still provide all the citizens of the richest nation in the world, regardless of income or socio-economic status, basic medical care.