Having grown up in Canada, these stories never surprise me. Last year I had to have a colonoscopy (bleech!), I had to wait 3 or so weeks for the appointment. My childhood best friend back in Ontario is still waiting for an appointment (she actually has a much more serious problem than my minor checking on things) unless she manages to sneak in if someone cancels, she'll be waiting 7 months! Crazy.

Thanks for posting that -- people here really don't believe the reality (as I hear it from Canadians).

It doesn't exactly seem like rocket science to me. Look at all the countries what have a system such as you propose adopting, realize how eff'd up their medical care is, and make a sound, rational decision to NOT follow down the same path.

But don't mind me. I'm just a prole.

The political class is fully aware of the consequences - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT7Y0TOBuG4&feature=player_embedded

* notice the Berkeley pukes applauding Reich's exhortation of eugenics. Of course they're expecting that these policies will never affect elites like themselves.

Despite wait times at least all the people of Canada are treated equally. In the U.S. all the people are not treated equally. You have to have money to receive basic health care. If we have such a poor system why are Americans coming across the border to receive this basic health care. Grow up America and take of your own. Preventive Medicine is good for the soul. You are the last Western society to do so! Why let those with money rule your shores?

Allow me to be the first to say that I couldn't give a rat's ass about what kind of health care system the US chooses for itself. And I don't expect anyone here to agree with me, but the Cdn system works fine. It costs less per capita as a share of GDP than the US system and it provides for excellent care for the vast majority of people who happen to live in a country that is - gasp - fundamentally different in a number of important ways (important in the sense of their relevance to health care delivery) than the US. Sure you may have to wait for non-emergency procedures, and there is admittedly a shortage of family doctors in certain provinces (though this is not a function of medicare so much as of the ridiculous control the medical association has over new entrants to the profession), but in case you hadn't noticed the US system is also imperfect. Every country has challenges with healthcare -- there is no magic formula irrespective of what the market forces squad will tell you. You can't trot out some outlier anecdote about a six month wait time for an MRI as evidence that the system doesn't work. That's ridiculous.

Hey, Scott, tell me again why that gov't official came to the US for medical treatment when he is sitting on this wonderful medical system you are praising.

Suppose you'd have to ask him irlandes. Now if only it was possible to come up with a single example of the failure of the existing US system I guess I'd win the argument?

Gimme a break. Let me say it again in case you missed it the first time around - I don't give a rat's ass what you do in the US. Really don't care. Not a smidge. Go nuts. But grateful if in your great rush to man the barricades in defence of corporate health care you don't trample the reality of the Canadian system, which works out just fine for the vast majority of us (or else we'd change it -- medicare is something we take great pride in, in fact, despite the challenges. It's not something that is done to us).