How should people in the USA get Canadian-type healthcare?
Currently, we pay about 16.5% of our GDP for healthcare, which is by far the most for any nation, yet millions of us don't get any medical care at all and millions more get too little. Canada pays about 8% of its GDP, and everyone gets required medical care, plus Canadians live considerably longer. Both political parties have no plans to change things, and some people have suggested that they're paid under the table by doctors and drug companies.
4999_Basque2006-08-26T16:21:13Z
Favorite Answer
The vast majority of Candia/ens are productive; albeit they have an enormous amount of money confiscated from their paychecks to pay for "affordable" health care.
The United States has a huge population of non-productive people (some might call them "bums" or "victims") who have developed an entitlement mentality. The result is, that in our free-market medical system, the $25.00 doctor visit costs me $100.00 because too many people make no effort, nor are they required, to pay their fair share.
Although free health care is available to every "poor" person in the United States, it still comes is a surprise to most that health care is not a right...it's a consumer product. It just so happens that there are enough benevolent people around that the ungrateful recipients have come to consider it their Constitutional right to have free health care.
Personally, i don't know how a family of four in the US can afford to pay $359.00 a month just for health care. That would really upset me. I am a Canadian single mother and have two sons. The cost of a basic health care plan is only about 84.00 monthly if you don't have extended health care through work. However, we pay more like 10% of our GDP here. Still, I agree that it just makes common sense to equalize health care opportunities everywhere. It shouldn't be some kind of privilege to have access to necessary medical care. It should be noted that pharmaceutical companies spend almost as much on promoting and advertising their drugs and equipment and sending doctors to seminars as they do on basic health care itself. I think the answer is going to come from the one politician who doesn't allow the system to continue as is and fights to the death to balance the health care price with the financial capabilities of the family.