General Discussion

In a single-payer system, the government is NOT 'involved in the healthcare system'. The government just makes sure the bills get paid.

My sister is a Canadian citizen. She has raised two children to adulthood, is being treated for leukemia (successfully), and she has never seen a medical bill. I had to explain to her what a co-payment is ... she does not have to deal with that. Her husband just had a serious surgical procedure, and she just spent almost a month in the hospital being treated for a tricky respiratory issue, which has been resolved. Neither will see a single medical bill. Their single payer plan even paid for her husband's parking when he visited the hospital every day.

Their taxes are about on a par with US taxes ... the difference is that the taxes pay for services, AND they don't have to pay for exorbitant private insurance. And that's not to mention that the hospitals don't need expensive staff to negotiate with hundreds of different private insurers.

She has access to the best doctors and specialists, and she nor her family has ever been denied a needed procedure, and the treatments have been timely and effective.

She and her fellow Canadians wouldn't trade their system for anything. It seems VERY difficult to get people to understand this.