Single-payer health care

People keep clamoring for it but they fail to see how bad it is in other countries. I posted about England's problems a few days ago. Here is a look at Canada's problems - from Forbes:

Democrats Idolize Canada's Health System as It Recovers from Worst Year Ever
Mainstream Democrats are clamoring for Canadian-style single-payer health care -- a demand once relegated to the far-left fringe of the party.

Sixteen Senate Democrats, including several with aspirations for the party's presidential nomination in 2020, have signed onto Sen. Bernie Sanders's "Medicare for All" plan. Fealty to single-payer is already proving a litmus test for Democrats running for public office in blue states like California.

The increasing idolization of our northern neighbor's health system is ironic, as Canada's single-payer system -- which I grew up under -- just experienced its worst year ever.

Canadian patients waited a record 21.2 weeks to receive treatment from a specialist after being referred by their general practitioner in 2017, according to the latest survey of wait times by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based think tank. That's a week longer than last year -- and more than double the corresponding figure from 1993, when Fraser began keeping track.

Patients with complex medical needs languished even longer. Those in need of neurosurgery, for instance, faced a median wait of nearly 33 weeks. For orthopedic surgery, wait times exceeded 41 weeks.

Rural Canadians faced similar delays. The median wait time for specialist treatment in New Brunswick was almost 42 weeks. In Nova Scotia, it was nearly 38 weeks. And on Prince Edward Island, over 32 weeks.

While months-long delays are routine in the Canadian system, years-long waits are not unprecedented. One Ontario patient was recently asked to wait four-and-a-half years to see a neurologist.

All told, Canadians are currently waiting on more than 1 million medical procedures. That means that roughly 3 percent of Canadians are biding their time until it's their turn to be treated, according to Fraser's calculations.

It's a longish article (three pages) and they cite cases and give links to corroborating information. One example:

That's what happened to Walid Khalfallah, a boy whose scoliosis was so bad that he was promised an "expedited" surgery. Despite his dire need for treatment, Khalfallah was forced to wait more than three years for his surgery date. His condition deteriorated throughout his grueling wait, according to a profile in the Vancouver Sun. He is now a paraplegic.

And the free healthcare?

Nor is it true that Canadians enjoy "free" health care. Treatment delays cost Canadian patients an estimated $1.7 billion a year in lost time and wages. Canadians also pay steep taxes to both the federal and provincial governments to fund their health system. The average family of four has to shell out more than $12,000 a year in taxes to cover its share of the cost.

A sobering look at what the ninnies want to impose on us.