Health Care in Canada
and the United States
September 9, 2014
Alex Canyon
Want to fly to Europe? You can buy a ticket on the
plane, sit in a cramped seat, and be uncomfortable all the way there.
Or you can pay extra, a lot extra, and fly first
class. You'll get a larger seat, you're own TV screen, and plenty of food and
drink.
What about buying a car, or a house? There is so
much choice out there. You can buy a fancy car, a fancy house, or you can buy a
basic car, a small house. It all depends on how much money you want to spend...
or how much you have to spend.
In life, money buys more - cars, groceries, clothes,
houses, jewelry, computers - the more you spend, the more you get. And, the
wealthier you are, the more money you've got to spend.
Is that fair? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it's the way
the world works.
Except when it comes to health care, in Canada that
is.
In Canada, everyone plays for doctors, nurses, and
hospitals through their taxes. When you pay taxes at the store, or when your
parents pay their taxes, some of that money, a lot of it in fact, goes towards
paying for the health care system.
Anytime a Canadian wants of needs to visit the
doctor, visit the hospital, have surgery, or be treated by a specialist, it
does not cost them a penny. In Canada, when you are sick, you do not have to
open your wallet. No matter how sick you are, no matter how long you need to be
in the hospital, just show up, and it's all already paid for.
No matter how wealthy someone is, or how poor, the
health care they get is all the same. Doctors in Canada treat rich and poor all
the same. There's no difference. If someone is sick, they deserve to be treated
and cured, no matter how much money they have, no matter if they are rich or
poor.
A wealthy person in Canada cannot buy better
doctors, they cannot buy a bed in a better hospital, they cannot buy better
medicine, or better treatment. In Canada, health care is not like air travel.
There is no first class health care in Canada, everyone gets access to the
same.
In the United States, the situation is different.
In the United States, there is first class health
care. And second class, and third class, fourth class, and even ultra-first
class, and super-ultra-first class.
Wealthy people in the US can pay for fancier hospitals.
They can pay for shorter waiting times to see a doctor. They can pay to be
operated on by a better doctor, or a doctor with more experience. They can get
a private bedroom in a nice hospital. They can get a full time nurse who spends
they day with only them, monitoring them, and helping them with whatever they
need. The more you pay for health care in the US, the more you get.
People with less money, or people who can't pay,
usually get to see a doctor too. Often though, these doctors work long hours in
crowded hospitals, and can't spend very long with each patient. In some cases,
if a person does not have any money, it can be very difficult for them to find
a doctor. In the US, sick people sometimes need to make a tough choice: should
they visit a doctor, or should they save their money? Maybe they'll just get
better in a few days, maybe it's a waste of money to go.
Shouldn't people be able to pay for better health
care if they can afford it? On the other hand, doesn't everyone deserve a good
doctor, rich or poor?
