Canadians continue to be fed lies about the medical system by politicians and the media. The typical story is accept and love Canada’s universal healthcare system or suffer under the US system where even a relatively small ailment can bankrupt a patient.

Of course this is nonsense. The US system offers many options to patients and many American residents are adequately insured. In addition, medicare provides access to treatment for many others. This could be the topic for several volumes but it is enough to say the common perception of the American system held by many Canadians is just woefully incorrect.

More importantly, many other countries manage to provide residents with hybrid systems mixing public and privately funded healthcare. And many of these systems work very well. Limiting a comparison of Canada’s system to that of the US ignores dozens of other countries who successfully provide residents with affordable, quality and timely healthcare. Some countries that many Canadians would disparagingly refer to as third-world can match or exceed canada’s healthcare delivery. (And the irony is that the Canadian system is replete with “third world” workers.) These countries often have modern, fully-equipped doctors offices and hospitals that are state-of-the-art. Wait times are often negligible. Medicine is cheap and available. Doctors are well trained. It is time for Canadians to insist on the authorities addressing the problems with Canada’s system in a way that does not simply raise taxes and hire more bureaucrats. More doctors are needed. More options are needed for the consumer. Alas, this will never be fixed.