i have 20 years experience with American healthcare, for the average american it is worse than what the rest of the G7 gets. this is born out by infant mortality rates, life expectancy, quality at end of life, etc etc etc. and on top of it, americans spend *more* on healthcare than anyone else! definetely not getting bang for the buck, that's for sure. for the best, who can pay whatever it takes, there is nothing better, no doubt about it. my daughter was brought into this world at the Harvard teaching hospital and it was a fabulous experience. but for everyone one of me there are 3 people who have trouble getting basic competent prenatal care. (as an eg).
First of all I have direct experience of being left on a bed in a hospital corridor for 12 hours. This was in Canada. My wife waited 6 months to have gall bladder operation. Two weeks before scheduled operation and she was in massive pain, she was informed by the doctors office that the said prick of a doctor "had fulfilled his quota for the year and would operate in the new year" which was 2 months later. Luckily my mother inlaw knew someone who had the operation done and in 3 days a doctor in another city performed the operation. The son of the first lady who was diagnosed with SARS was LEFT FOR 24 HOURS on a bed in emergency for evaluation. This is how SARS spread in Toronto. For small things the Canadian Medical is fine but once it gets more serious it sucks. It is NOT worth the extra taxes we pay. I pay $1750 a MONTH realty taxes for a retail space in a third rate area. Thats on 2800 square feet. Canadians have higher taxes on gasoline Canadians pay 15% tax at restaurants, I could go on and on.
"It's not just the weather that's cooler in Canada" Wednesday, July 30, 2003 Pittsburg, PA Post-Gazette You live next door to a clean-cut, quiet guy. He never plays loud music or throws raucous parties. He doesn't gossip over the fence, just smiles politely and offers you some tomatoes. His lawn is cared-for, his house is neat as a pin and you get the feeling he doesn't always lock his front door. He wears Dockers. You hardly know he's there. And then one day you discover that he has pot in his basement, spends his weekends at peace marches and that guy you've seen mowing the yard is his spouse. Allow me to introduce Canada. The Canadians are so quiet that you may have forgotten they're up there, but they've been busy doing some surprising things. It's like discovering that the mice you are dimly aware of in your attic have been building an espresso machine. Did you realize, for example, that our reliable little tag-along brother never joined the Coalition of the Willing? Canada wasn't willing, as it turns out, to join the fun in Iraq. I can only assume American diner menus weren't angrily changed to include "freedom bacon," because nobody here eats the stuff anyway. And then there's the wild drug situation: Canadian doctors are authorized to dispense medical marijuana. Parliament is considering legislation that would not exactly legalize marijuana possession, as you may have heard, but would reduce the penalty for possession of under 15 grams to a fine, like a speeding ticket. This is to allow law enforcement to concentrate resources on traffickers; if your garden is full of wasps, it's smarter to go for the nest rather than trying to swat every individual bug. Or, in the United States, bong. Now, here's the part that I, as an American, can't understand. These poor benighted pinkos are doing everything wrong. They have a drug problem: Marijuana offenses have doubled since 1991. And Canada has strict gun control laws, which means that the criminals must all be heavily armed, the law-abiding civilians helpless and the government on the verge of a massive confiscation campaign. (The laws have been in place since the '70s, but I'm sure the government will get around to the confiscation eventually.) They don't even have a death penalty! And yet ... nationally, overall crime in Canada has been declining since 1991. Violent crimes fell 13 percent in 2002. Of course, there are still crimes committed with guns -- brought in from the United States, which has become the major illegal weapons supplier for all of North America -- but my theory is that the surge in pot-smoking has rendered most criminals too relaxed to commit violent crimes. They're probably more focused on shoplifting boxes of Ho-Hos from convenience stores. And then there's the most reckless move of all: Just last month, Canada decided to allow and recognize same-sex marriages. Merciful moose, what can they be thinking? Will there be married Mounties (they always get their man!)? Dudley Do-Right was sweet on Nell, not Mel! We must be the only ones who really care about families. Not enough to make sure they all have health insurance, of course, but more than those libertines up north. This sort of behavior is a clear and present danger to all our stereotypes about Canada. It's supposed to be a cold, wholesome country of polite, beer-drinking hockey players, not founded by freedom-fighters in a bloody revolution but quietly assembled by loyalists and royalists more interested in order and good government than liberty and pendence. But if we are the rugged individualists, why do we spend so much of our time trying to get everyone to march in lockstep? And if Canadians are so reserved and moderate, why are they so progressive about letting people do what they want to? Canadians are, as a nation, less religious than we are, according to polls. As a result, Canada's government isn't influenced by large, well-organized religious groups and thus has more in common with those of Scandinavia than those of the United States, or, say, Iran. Canada signed the Kyoto global warming treaty, lets 19-year-olds drink, has more of its population living in urban areas and accepts more immigrants per capita than the United States. These are all things we've been told will wreck our society. But I guess Canadians are different, because theirs seems oddly sound. Like teenagers, we fiercely idolize individual freedom but really demand that everyone be the same. But the Canadians seem more adult --more secure. They aren't afraid of foreigners. They aren't afraid of homosexuality. Most of all, they're not afraid of each other. I wonder if America will ever be that cool.
that's just it, we don't pay "extra taxes" for it, the US spends far far more per capita on healthcare than Canada. how much is "far" more"? more than double! and despite that canadians live longer healthier lives. but this is now getting OT, maybe someone should start a healthcare comparison thread.
Yeah right ok ok... In a nutshell I have lived both in Canada (40 years) and the US (7 years). I have paid taxes in both places. There is no question in my mind. Quality of life, low taxes and disposible income..the USA wins HANDS DOWN! By the way, applying for US citizenship now.
I am just telling the truth , Canada is a good place to live. It is safe. That's a Canadian disease.. they never want to hear the truth. They are smug because the big USA devil is over the border. But its that devil that keeps Canadians safe just by being there. If the Canadian crime rate soared like in the US, then half of the population would move out. And by the way, my wife and I have donated thousands and thousands of dollars to Canadian hospitals. We do believe in giving back to society not just MOOCHING off it.
i'm very happy for you! this isn't about one place being better than another, it's about finding a place that's best for you. if the US is best for you, go for it, brother!
"this is born out by infant mortality rates" infant mortality rates in the us are a direct result of lifestyle. its the inner city crack babies and rural indian reservation death rates that skew it to make it seem worse than it is. i live in south dakota where the indian reservations are that have the highest infant mortality rates in the us. guess what. the indian reservations have socialized medicine in the united states. it is 100% free paid for by the government. they have nice new hospitals built by the government. they cant use they excuse that they cant afford health care. there is more to this problem than money.