Here (Canada) you have some options, but are limited. You can't pay to get to the head of the queue for some operation, you can't skip your place in line for re

Here (Canada) you have some options, but are limited. You can't pay to get to the head of the queue for some operation, you can't skip your place in line for replacement organs. Sure, if your name is literally on the hospital building because you've made a gigantic donation to it they might grease the wheels a bit in your favour, but generally you're just like everyone else. You can go internationally for treatment but it's on your own dime. Some people, irate at wait times, will hop across the border for treatment at US hospitals. These stories show up in the paper from time to time, but the "intolerable" wait these people endure is more often than not pretty minor. Waiting six months for a hip replacement, which is not a life-threatening procedure, is not uncommon. You'll survive. Meanwhile if you're feeling really ill and step in to the emergency wing, then they realize you're suffering from a massive cardiac problem and need to get you into the operating room immediately, you won't be stuck in line, you may not even fill out any paperwork, you'll be given all the attention they can spare until you're stabilized. "Two-tier" health care, where you can pay to get better service than everyone else, is something politicians of the conservative bent flirt with from time to time as a way of "fixing" our health-care system. It's always shouted down because people know they're just looking for ways that their billionaire buddies can jump the queue. It's disruptive, it creates a rift between the rich and poor and puts a lot of stress on people who may not have the money but believe they need the superior treatment. Consider: When the Canadian medical system fails someone, when they fall through the cracks, it is front page news and the media has a field day. This happens so frequently in the US that it doesn't even surface as a story. "Old lady didn't get hip replacement, insurance wouldn't pay, stuck in old-age home forever" is not news in the US, but it would be here because people would be pissed off she didn't get fair treatment.