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Canadian healthcare is horrible. "Out of 11 countries, Canada was ranked ninth for health care, placing just above France and the United States." https://www.

Canadian healthcare is horrible. "Out of 11 countries, Canada was ranked ninth for health care, placing just above France and the United States." https://www.kelownanow.com/news/news/National_News/Canada_ranked_third_last_for_health_care_among_developed_countries https://www.kelownanow.com/news/news/National_News/Canada_ra... "217,500 Canadians left the country for health care in 2017, according to Statistics Canada. If those travelling with the patients are included in the count, the total rises to 369,700 people." https://torontosun.com/news/national/canadians-continue-to-leave-the-country-for-health-care-says-new-report https://torontosun.com/news/national/canadians-continue-to-l... In this thread, someone said people travel to the US even from Norway. (!!!) The US has the absolute best system money can buy, period. It's just that most people don't have much money, and that is the problem that needs fixing.

watwut 6y ago
In your link, US is even lower. So if someone praises Canadian system in comparison to US one, it is still correct. It is absurd to show link that ranks Canada higher then US despite having problems and then proceed to ... call US the best. Also, Americans near border travel to Canada to buy drugs pretty routinely despite it being illegal.
- deleted 6y ago
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arcticbull 6y ago
Btw the majority of those who “left for healthcare” are the Canadian old folks who spend half the year in America and have insurance as a result.
- inter_netuser 6y ago
  source? I know dozens that went to the US for treatments. Some even took out second mortgages because it was a choice between languishing on a waiting list with a heart condition that can kill you, or getting it fixed next week.
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    I suspect their new insolvency created a different kind of heart condition. One way of deriving this is the cost of an average hip replacement in the US is $100,000 USD ($128K CAD) - how many Canadians have a spare house kicking around to finance a hip? Probably not that many. Further, this paper, [1] and this write-up [2]. If you actually read the policy brief on which your article was based [3] you'll find a few interesting things. For one, they acknowledge that this travel includes traveling for non-covered procedures like cosmetic plastic surgery. It also implies snowbirds are not covered in this data, but then acknowledges in the next line that they probably are too but they don't have actual breakdowns other than their own "knowledge" that people are leaving due to wait times. "The federal agency wasn’t able to provide a breakdown of patients seeking medically-necessary procedures and those leaving Canada for cosmetic surgery." This feels like important information to know. I find this paper incomplete and un-compelling. With that said I did find this statement in the second street brief pretty funny: "While health care debate in Canada often focuses on comparing our current system with the United States, readers should note that the Commonwealth Fund report ranked the United States 11th out of the 11 countries it examined." [1] https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.21.3.19 https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.21.3.19 [2] https://www.vox.com/2016/10/9/13222798/canadians-seeking-medical-care-us-trump-debate https://www.vox.com/2016/10/9/13222798/canadians-seeking-med... [3] https://www.secondstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Policy-Brief-Flight-of-the-Sick.pdf https://www.secondstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Poli...

watwut 6y ago

In your link, US is even lower. So if someone praises Canadian system in comparison to US one, it is still correct. It is absurd to show link that ranks Canada higher then US despite having problems and then proceed to ... call US the best. Also, Americans near border travel to Canada to buy drugs pretty routinely despite it being illegal.

deleted 6y ago
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arcticbull 6y ago

Btw the majority of those who “left for healthcare” are the Canadian old folks who spend half the year in America and have insurance as a result.

inter_netuser 6y ago
source? I know dozens that went to the US for treatments. Some even took out second mortgages because it was a choice between languishing on a waiting list with a heart condition that can kill you, or getting it fixed next week.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  I suspect their new insolvency created a different kind of heart condition. One way of deriving this is the cost of an average hip replacement in the US is $100,000 USD ($128K CAD) - how many Canadians have a spare house kicking around to finance a hip? Probably not that many. Further, this paper, [1] and this write-up [2]. If you actually read the policy brief on which your article was based [3] you'll find a few interesting things. For one, they acknowledge that this travel includes traveling for non-covered procedures like cosmetic plastic surgery. It also implies snowbirds are not covered in this data, but then acknowledges in the next line that they probably are too but they don't have actual breakdowns other than their own "knowledge" that people are leaving due to wait times. "The federal agency wasn’t able to provide a breakdown of patients seeking medically-necessary procedures and those leaving Canada for cosmetic surgery." This feels like important information to know. I find this paper incomplete and un-compelling. With that said I did find this statement in the second street brief pretty funny: "While health care debate in Canada often focuses on comparing our current system with the United States, readers should note that the Commonwealth Fund report ranked the United States 11th out of the 11 countries it examined." [1] https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.21.3.19 https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.21.3.19 [2] https://www.vox.com/2016/10/9/13222798/canadians-seeking-medical-care-us-trump-debate https://www.vox.com/2016/10/9/13222798/canadians-seeking-med... [3] https://www.secondstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Policy-Brief-Flight-of-the-Sick.pdf https://www.secondstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Poli...