From most of the folks I talk to here and abroad, waiting times for the things you're thinking of are longer in the US. I just spent 3 months waiting to see an

From most of the folks I talk to here and abroad, waiting times for the things you're thinking of are longer in the US. I just spent 3 months waiting to see an ankle surgeon here in NYC and it cost over $1,500 to have x-rays in the office and be told I'm a bad candidate for surgery. A friend had to spend the better part of a month waiting for a mammogram and ultrasound to diagnose breast cancer. Someone in the dorm next to me in college died of an asthma attack because he couldn't afford the ambulance and took a cab. The system is still the way it is in the US because of money.