Here is the opening:
As a Canadian, I am often bewildered by the American Left's utopian albeit perfectly incorrect views of the Canadian healthcare system. The general notion, as exemplified in Michael Moore's 2007 film Sicko, is that countries such as Canada and Cuba offer compassionate universal free healthcare to its citizenry while a diabolical consortium of capitalists headed by Dr. Evil runs the American system.
Let me share some important realities regarding our "free" Canadian healthcare.He discusses 5 points, three of which are briefly summarized as follows:
1. Canadians pay exorbitant taxes for their "free care"
3. It is extremely difficult to find a family physician willing to take on new patients. Getting to see a specialist is even harder.
4. Even if you have a medical emergency, you may have to wait 8-14 hours for care.(Each of these points, and two others, are discussed in greater detail in "Don't Romanticize the Canadian Healthcare System".)
Of course, those with special "pull" in Canada can "jump the queue" and receive their MRI or surgery ahead the others on the waiting list. But this merely replaces "political pull" as the currency for medical services, rather than money.
