what would the drawbacks be if america had a national healthcare system like canada?

Question

now i have to say this cuz i know lots of people will mention this. ANY OTHER CONS BESIDES AN INCREASE IN TAX, a tax increase is common knowledge.

would a hybrid system work?

Answer 1

It really depends on what kind of system you'd have. A single payer system has different drawbacks than a multi payer. Equating the systems in England an Canada to the ones in Japan and Switzerland is like saying apples and oranges are the same.

Single payer systems have drawbacks of large government red tape, waiting times for procedures, and caps on doctor pay.

Multipayer systems generally are mandatory for all, all insurances have to accept whomever applies - if you can pay you can play inequality, and some might ditch their private coverage in favor of government coverage even if it's not necessary and drive up costs.

http://www.chroniccrisis.com/singlevmulti.html

BTW, the last English hospital I had treatment in was an absolute dump. And as an American? There was no charge. Thanks, English taxpayers!

Answer 2

Interesting, I see only half-informed answers thus far for the most part. Let's look at things from the pro-end of this topic. For the person who answered this before me about people in the UK pulling their own teeth out with pliers because they couldn't get a dental appointment in time.... No offense intended, but do you believe every piece of muddled crap that's placed before you? 99% of my family is from Europe, primarily England, France, and Italy....all of which have nationalized tax-funded health systems. The service, from what I understand, is excellent. They have timely service for what they need to be done, and the doctors are rewarded for actually doing their job (i.e., improving health) over American doctors just being rewarded for prescribing the new hot drug on the market and doing nothing to actually improve health. The system, when implemented correctly, works perfectly. It works well in Canada, the UK, and France for example. Doctors work for the government, they don't work in the back pocket of drug and insurance companies like they do here. If it works so sadly as we're taught to believe within the US, why did my uncle not to long ago tell me that if they removed the NHS in the UK there'd no doubt be revolution? I don't know about you, but there seems to be a certain fondness to the system. I'm all for them implementing a socialized health care system in the States, I feel that it's about damned time that they do it. What I'm curious about is this : can they do it correctly? On that, I'm not so sure.

Answer 3

a huge drawback would be the potential for mis-management. There are few government programs that operate at the efficiency of the private sector. Imagine the Feds being a monopolized HMO. Scary, huh.
The status quo in health care is not politically maintainable, but an all or nothing answer like Canada's would not be to our advantage.

Answer 4

Well, we'd have a national health care system like Canada? Think of government institutions, the post office, the DMV, the DNR, do you really want an institution like that in control of your health care? When it becomes "free (except for the taxes which I will not mention)" more people will use it frivolously. That's basic economics when a product becomes cheaper, more people will use it. That means we'll have less medical resources, and we'll have longer wait times.

Answer 5

Besides the increase in taxes. We would have to wait in line for treatment, some procedures would be unavailable because of cost, that would be know as rationing. As the pay for doctors and nurses would be capped by the government, less Americans would go to medical school and more and more third world doctors, with their broken English and suspect bathing habits would be imported. Conditions in hospital would deteriorate due to lack of funding. No new procedures would be invented, no new drugs would hit the market, taking out the profit motive would insure that. All of this would almost be worth it if I could see Micheal Moore in a waiting room in south central LA, surrounded by the People he pretends to care for, almost but not quite.

Answer 6

why would I want to be a DR if I know I am going to have to work in a govt run bureaucracy that pretty much takes my 6-12 years of medical school and makes it worth nothing?? Its not like I can leave my hospital for more money and go somewhere else, so whats the incentive to be a good medical professional?? Like it or not money plays a big part in the free market of the medical profession.

Its like teachers, they get paid so little for what they do.........so why would really smart educated people want to be a teacher for the public??? yes some care very much for their students, but most are not the best in the field.

Do you want to be treated by an over-worked, under-paid, disgruntled doctor............I think not, and thats what will happen if the govt takes over.

Answer 7

An overall degradation of health care QUALITY. Long waiting lists for treatment. People dying before they can be seen.

The biggest problem is that once you downgrade the U.S. health care system to that of Canada, there will be nowhere that EITHER country's severely ill can go to get quality treatment.

We're the last hold out. Virtually EVERY other country in the world has people coming here for treatment they can't get in their own country!

Answer 8

I do not know enough about how it works to comment on drawbacks. I can say though that I know of some professionals who have left Canada and come to the US because of high taxes.

Answer 9

Care rationing.
Critical care wil trump everything.
People won't be able to afford private care to supplement it because they paid so much for the national care.
Elective care will be almost impossible.
Canadians now rely on the US for unique care and specialized treatment. Where will we go for it?
Waiting times. Most Canadians and Western Europeans will tell you that they get appointments months sometimes years in advance for procedures like hip and knee replacements. I don't see how it would be any different here.

Answer 10

They increase our taxes, regardless of what we do. Right now it is to pay for an illegal war.
I'd rather have my tax dollars go for something productive. Like health care.
We have it in Oregon, and it works just fine.
I don't see what the problem is. Everyone would be paying for it, not just the 'privileged rich Rep. neo cons, who gripe at paying 10 cents for a cup of lemonade.
I have never seen a more selfish bunch. I am always helping somebody, and I do it gladly. I can look myself in the mirror, and I sleep good, every night. My conscience is clear.
national health care would benefit all.
And yes, I am a liberal, and proud of it.