Is it true that Canadians do not have to pay for health care?

Question

If this is true, how does the Canadian government afford it? I certainly wish that the US government could come up with such an ingenious idea.

Answer 1

Yes, and they pay for it through taxes. The U.S. government couldn't afford such a program right now because our taxes are extremely low.

Most industrialized nations have some sort of national health program, whether it be universal health care, government run health services, or both. The U.S. just doesn't care enough about its citizens.

Answer 2

It is paid for through high taxes but that type of health care is not always the best for the public. I have lived on the border of Minnesota and many Canadians come across the border just to get better quality care. Many places have low cost alternatives to health care for certain things such as shots for babies. You can go to a regular clinic and pay about $100 for vacinations and be through in about 30 min or go to the state funded clinic and pay $10 where you will wait a minimum of 4 hours even if you are first in line waiting outside before the clinic opens. There are pros and cons to all healthcare it just depends on the type of care you desire.

Answer 3

They fund it through taxes. Certain members of the US government are working to make it a reality in one form or another. The concern is that funding such a program would force us to raise taxes to pay for it, however to more reasonable solution would be to redistribute the taxes that we already collect. But who knows what will happen. In the mean time, if you want Canada's health care, move to Canada. It's a really nice country. There are other countries with socialized health care, but they are further away.

Answer 4

I'm not a Canadian citizen, but it is my understanding that Canadians pay for health care through taxes.

If you apply that system in the United States, given our system of taxation and waste, people would find that the additional taxes outweigh the cost of the health insurance you could purchase today in absence of socialized medicine (e.g. "My health insurance premium used to be $150, but now I have $200 taken from my paycheck. Hillary needs another pair of shoes, I guess...")

Answer 5

Yes, soon we will have a system similar for all children. Here is an example, If you live with a bunch of people is it easier for everyone to take turns paying the electric bill or everyone throws in every time the bill is due? Canada whole system runs at about 3% the same as our little medicare. Meanwhile our for profit system runs about 30-35%. And why do people think we can`t do better then their system

Answer 6

in socialized medicine, everyone pays a portion of the cost regardless of whether they need it or not. Sort of like having insurance from the government.

The problem with socialized medicine is that just like the beaurocracy that runs it, the system is painfully slow. people have to wait a long time for standard medical procedures, that here in the US are not a big deal.

Answer 7

Yes! Canadians health care is way cheaper and affordable than the US.

Answer 8

They don't pay for health care directly but indirectly they pay very high taxes.

Answer 9

THERE OVERALL TAX RATE IS 60 PERCENT - THAT'S 60 PERCENT FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND 40 PERCENT FOR YOU - YET YOU DO 100 PERCENT OF THE WORK - NICE DEAL

Answer 10

Not true: If we don't pay a monthly premium on our health insurance we are S.O.L. and it is not cheap.