The trope comes partly from some of us who have lived in both and saw the difference first hand. It also depends on where you are (eg: Im told Quebec is a lot

The trope comes partly from some of us who have lived in both and saw the difference first hand. It also depends on where you are (eg: Im told Quebec is a lot worse than Ontario, though I've never gotten the chance to compare them). But when I lived in a single payer system, the thought of going to the ER was -terrifying-. Go in at 6am in excruciating pain, still waiting by 10pm unless you're spitting blood all over the place. The first time I went to the ER in the US, I walked straight by it because all I saw was a bunch of nurse looking bored and no one around...because it was empty. Subsequent time it was a bit more crowded, but never the horrors that I saw in my childhood. Now that Im older, for fairness reason I'd still take single payer any day. While I'm quite privileged, others are not, and I rather wait all day at the ER than knowing some people can get bankrupted by it. But the difference in wait times are still front and center in my memories.