Why is it Canada can recieve this free healthcare and not have to pay a cent when going to the doctors, or hospital. Yet the Americans can't see to catch on as to how we do it. Wouldn't it be easier if the Americans having free healthcare as well ?
2007-01-12 16:50:00 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Immigration
Don't look now, but your health care isn't free. It's paid for by taxes. We spend a lot more per capita and can't agree on what we'd pay for vs. what we wouldn't if we went to a single-payor system. When Canadians get fed up with their system they come to the US. We wouldn't have that kind of option, so we have to be a bit more cautious.
2007-01-12 17:05:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as free health care. If you do not pay for it directly, you pay for it through taxation.
I lived in the UK before I came here. It is easier to have access to healthcare in the UK because it is free at point of use. Taxation in the UK is, for most people, less than taxation in the USA plus healthcare costs. So far that sounds like a good deal. The downside is that healthcare in the UK is rationed. You have to "wait in line" for surgery. It may take up to two years to have a procedure that can be arranged and carried out in a few weeks in the USA, if you have the insurance. Prescription drugs are tightly controlled. The state health system does not pick up the cost of the newest medicines, as a rule.
Every country has to choose between universal healthcare and letting market forces work naturally. There is no right answer. There are trade-offs in both systems. In the UK you accept the longer wait-times for the security of knowing that if you have to go to the ER or have an extended hospital stay you are not facing any medical bills and only a modest charge for prescriptions. Under the US system, we must accept that a significant part of the population does not have access to refgular health care, but that healthcare provided to those who can afford it is better than anywhere in the world.
2007-01-13 12:23:01 · answer #2 · answered by skip 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Canada's health care is not free. The Canadian people still pay for their health care in the form of the taxes which fund their national healthcare system.
Would America be better off adopting a similar system? In my opinion, we would not.
2007-01-13 01:04:12 · answer #3 · answered by timm1776 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most of the industrialized world provides health care to their residents.
England, Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Finland, Spain.....even Cuba just to name a few.
It's not free though.....employers are required to pay the government 2% of the total payroll for health insurance contributions. If you are unemployed or self-employed then you're automatically covered.
It's a person's birth right to be able to live their life as healthy as possible. I'm sure that your country will eventually get with the program...they seem to be making great strides toward it right now.....Okay, so they are talking about it more often than before.
Prescription drugs are a lot cheaper here too. But I am told that the USA is the richest country in the world, that might be the reason for the difference between them and the rest of the world.
2007-01-13 01:08:26 · answer #4 · answered by Jack 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Canada had a great health care system, prior to the mess it has now....
Now do you know nothing is free? What level of taxation are you willing to pay for to let everyone in the USA to have health care?
2007-01-13 01:03:59 · answer #5 · answered by mdjarhead 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every single American could have had free health care for a year or more. We bought a war instead. Can I pitch a tent in your backyard?
2007-01-13 01:58:59 · answer #6 · answered by mizzpatriot 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Canada's healthcare sucks.
2007-01-13 00:59:52 · answer #7 · answered by member_of_bush_family 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
everyone is greedy here and doesn't want to share, to distribute the wealth. it would not only be easier, but it would also save many people's lives, and save so much stress.... i pay so much for health insurance it stresses me out....
2007-01-13 00:55:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It would mean higher taxes, and the rich people wouldn'allow that to happen.
2007-01-13 00:55:19 · answer #9 · answered by October 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
free health care...........no ............affordable health care YES
2007-01-13 00:58:28 · answer #10 · answered by ? 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋