A question to Canadians?

I am a Canadian. The Canadian health system is vastly more efficient than the US system, at least in terms of overall costs. I don't just mean patient costs, but overall in the grand scheme of things.

The Canadian system, while not perfect, has many positives, such as being able to see a GP for free, whenever you need to. People tend to be pro-active, as they know they can go to the doc when they are a little sick, and don't wait until they are seriously ill b/c they are worried about the cost. I have several American friends who almost died or got extremely ill just because they couldn't afford to go to a doc in the early stages of an illness.

In the Canadian system, no matter how rich or poor you are, we all have access to specialists and high-tech tests. Granted, you sometimes have to wait for several weeks or months, but for life-threatening illnesses, they move very quickly in most cases. It is a very comforting feeling to know that you can take your child for heatlh care whenever necessary, and that there is a very solid health network in place. No one ever has to worry about being able to afford to seek treatment, about having to get a certian job just because it comes with health insurance, or having to fork out cash for personal insurance.