Are Canadians trying to sneak into the USA for it's superior healthcare?

Question

The movie Sicko had an American sneaking into Canada for health care...yet if the USA's Healthcare is so great, shouldn't we see LOTS of Canadians coming into the USA for healthcare?

BTW, the way to view Sicko over the internet was mentioned in a NYT article.

Answer 1

Boy - this question really got the bloggers going, didn't it. Too bad the answers are so full of speculation. Reviewing the answers so far, I can say that I will be the only one with some real perspective on it. Here's why - I am a Canadian, living in California, and used to work in the Canadian Health Care System.
Here's the basic break-down:
IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT - the US medical system has fantastic technologies and care available. However, as recent events have shown (woman dying in ER and calling 911 to get help - from ER) there are huge gaps in care. 30% or better of US residents/citizens have NO INSURANCE COVERAGE.
I work for a large corp. I have decent insurance, but the co-pays are a killer, and having to keep up with changing plans, doctors, etc. is a real PITA.
On the Canadian side: Its good. Not great, but good. There are very, very competent nurses and doctors and technologies available. There are wait times for non-emergency operations and tests. Most people get decent care in a reasonable amount of time. Its a triage system. If you don't understand how that works, watch some old MASH reruns, and watch how combat doctors have to sort out good cases from bad, and prioritize. Same thing happens in Canada. The money isn't un-ending, and decisions have to be made.
So - the punch line - neither system is perfect. You can cover virtually all your population with 'decent/good' healthcare, for a reasonable cost - Canadian style. Or, the US style is to cover some population (for a pretty high cost, BTW) with very good care, cover some population with good care at a reasonable cost (for the middle-class), and not cover some population at all.
No easy choices folks. Guess what? - its real life!

Answer 2

In some areas, Canadians are coming to the United States for care since there is a shortage of spaces in the Canadian system. The Fraser Institute has done a study detailing wait times across Canada and how some have came to the USA to avoid the wait and pay at their own expense.

Answer 3

The only reason they would is to avoid the lines at the hospital. The free healthcare system in Canada is nice for people without any money, but for those who work hard for their money, they often have to wait weeks and sometimes months for simple test results or x-ray appointments. This is because the medical system is overburdened since many of the people take advantage of the free service. See: hypochondriacs and people who don't take care of themselves. And medical staffs consequently not budgeted as much, so they are smaller and often times less skilled.

In America, you don't have this problem because you pay for it directly or through insurance. So if somebody in Canada could afford a service and wanted it right away, they may come to America for it.

This is a great example of the pros and cons of a public versus private health care system.

Answer 4

Tons of people are coming to the United States for healthcare...including Candians who know that they have to wait for their treatment, and they might be dead by the time they get it, Mexicans who are closing hospitals because the illegals are overloading the system, and tons of other foreigners. I live in Cleveland, which has the fabulous Cleveland Clinic, and whenever some important Arab needs an operation done, they come here. The question should be if Cuba's system is so great, why did it's leader go to Portugal to get his operations and treatment? But, again at the root of this problem is that you are selffish and you want someone else to pay for your troubles.

Answer 5

Wow. Sicko isn't even out yet, and you've seen it? Stealing movies is illegal, and you've deprived the tax system of revenue too.

So much for your moral high ground.

Do some homework. Canadians had to sue their government for the right to seek healthcare outside of their social system. They also routinely visit the US to avoid long lines in the system.

Do more more homework, and you'll see that we are actually subsidizing the Canadian system to the tune of billions of dollars every year in pharmaceuticals alone. Also note that more and more billions are spent treating non-taxpaying illegal immigrants.

And we think *our* government is going to give us better health care? I'll take freedom and choice any day.

Answer 6

That happens? My Canadian friend would laugh her head off if she saw that. It's so unrealistic! Do you realize how long the waiting list in Canada is? And how many people die just waiting for basic care?

Both types of Healthcare systems have their flaws, but I guess if your impoverished the Canadian way would be better... though America has free clinics that you can wait at just as long. It's a toss up, I guess.

Answer 7

How many things do you get for free that are better than the same things that have to be paid for? The fact is the health care in the U.S. is some of the best in the world, only a few small wealthy nations have better care. It's how it gets paid for that is the issue and how good will it be if the government takes over the administration of who gets what and when.

Answer 8

well the reason he was sneaking into canada for health care is because there it is free well not free because tax payers pay for it. however, it isnt working and the canadian government hasnt been able to find a way to keep paying for it. not to mention the quality has gone down. and yes the american system has the best health care in the world if you can pay for it. i know cause im from italy and i went there for an operation to boston

Answer 9

We do, living in a border state I can tell you it happens all the time. The main problem in Canada isn't cost, since it is heavily subsidized, it's availability. Lack of Doctors and lack of hospital space due to the poor return (IE low doctor pay, low billing) result in extremely long waits for procedures we take for granted here in the US. There have recently been several rulings in Canada to allow people to pay for health care outside there universal health system. The Canadian system will eventually collapse.

Answer 10

Delays that affected Ontario heart patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. In a single year, just for this one operation, 71 Ontario patients died before surgery, "121 were removed from the list permanently because they had become medically unfit for surgery" and 44 left the province to have their CABG surgery elsewhere, THE UNITED STATES!!!
192 people either died or were too sick to have surgery before they worked their way to the front of the waiting line.
An international survey of hospital administrators in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, the U.S. and Canada. When asked for the average waiting time for biopsy of a possible breast cancer in a 50-year-old woman, 21 percent of administrators of Canadian hospitals said more than three weeks; only 1 percent of American hospital administrators gave the same answer.

Fifty percent of the Canadian hospital administrators said the average waiting time for a 65-year-old man who requires a routine hip replacement was more than six months; in contrast, not one American hospital administrator reported waiting periods that long. Eighty-six percent of American hospital administrators said the average waiting time was shorter than three weeks; only 3 percent of Canadian hospital administrators said their patients have this brief a wait.The Canadian system works fine for minor problems, the myth of high-quality, "free" care. Its real costs in human suffering are ones that U.S. proponents don't want you to know about.