Universal Healthcare Debate

As someone who lives in a system with national healthcare I can say it’s not a problem like you state. We have both private and public healthcare, and You can use both or just the public one. If you have a life threatening illness then you get priority treatment over illnesses that are more of a inconvenience. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better then having admin people deny you treatment based on cost alone.

Universal healthcare is well overrated in the US.From a country that had it, it usually means: ugly hospitals, sad faces, long queues for treatments (I mean wait time for "free" treatment can be well over a year).There is no free lunch.On the other hand, I usually can get my kid to doctor same day, while using private healthcare provider (paid by my employer) it is almost impossible, 2-3 days wait.On yet another hand, to get registered to my local doctor I need to use phone

The article mentions the Canadian health care system, which I can speak of, since I live in Canada.In Canada, most health care is paid for by provincially funded systems which pay health care providers directly. Here in Ontario, our system is called OHIP. Canada also places limits on drug prices.The system is mostly working. If you need routine or critical care, you get it. But there are some issues. If you need expensive medical care for a condition that isn't killing you right now -

Could you elaborate on the differences in the healthcare systems?

Canada is the same as well. The system is setup to discourage private sector care (although a very small amount exists).However, lots of wealthy Canadians just fly to the US to get the best care money can buy.

I am quite familiar with the systems in other countries. Every country rations care. Some do it by condition severity, others by ability to pay. The vast majority of US consumers have health plan coverage and the co-insurance or co-payment amounts are fairly low. I won't attempt to defend the vagaries of the US healthcare system but let's not pretend that everyone who needs treatment in other developed countries actually gets it in a timely matter. Why are 5-year cancer survival rates

Private healthcare providers in the USA are not like that. The hospitals are normally glad to accept your money in exchange for treatment. You can go elsewhere if you wish. If your insurance company denies payment, you can find some other way to pay.Canada prohibits the existence of private healthcare providers. The only reason people aren't condemned to die on waiting lists is that nearly all Canadians can easily travel to the USA when they are desperate for treatment. Canada saves mone

This happens in canada too, so im not sure its uniquely a problem of private vs socialized healthcare.

Except in countries with socialised healthcare.

Well, it depends. Are you getting it immediately? Because a lot of "countries" with alleged healthcare simply delay it and you have to fight a bureocracy shield and even the paid insurance sucks and tries to use the public one.USA is terrible at healthcare for those that don't have a safety net but many countries, such as UK, are terrible for the middle income/stable job types, because you don't even have options (unless you pay a fortune) without months on end.It