[snafu]

There is no 'Free' health care. Everyone is covered and can choose to abuse the system; visit doctors because they crave attention. Canadians complain because the system isn't perfect, doesn't include prescriptions, nor elective procedures like Botox, but no one is denied care, there is no pre-existing condition denial, it is fully portable. Dr. do not need permission to order a medically necessary procedure and are paid, without default, on a fee schedule negotiated and approved by the executive CMA.

Our systems are provincial [state] and while v/similar there are small differences because fees were negotiated and some provinces include procedures that are dispensed in an alternate way. Example: flu shots are covered by Medicare in my province, in others they are free at Clinics offered at shopping centres.

When Medicare was introduced in 1961, modest premiums were charged which quickly became employee benefit, paid by employers. Subsequently provinces rolled those into their sales tax, 1,2,3 cents. My province eliminated premiums two y/o they were $ 48. per month, per family.

Hospitals in Canada are public, not-for-profit, government funded and operated. Patients are unaware of what their stay costs, they are not asked for a dime when they enter nor pay/owe a dime when they leave. There are v/few Private hospitals and they function primarily for elective procedures.

The major issue is hospitals are used as political tools. Government wants to punish a group - they withhold funds; just now they have withdrawn budgeted sums for cataract surgery day beds. It isn't considered life threatening so seniors who have apparently been complaining will have to wait several more weeks for planned, booked day surgery. Of course they can jump the que and pay for it at a private clinic. Hospitals are built to provide jobs or when the economy is booming or to help win an election.
However, anyone needing care for cancer, cardiac, hip/knee replacement and any life threatening problem, goes to the head of the line. For example, when a young mother who would be delivering twins could not be cared for in her small community's hospital, she was medivaced to a near-by American Hospital and we, the taxpayers, picked up the cost of several million dollars for her and babies successful delivery and after care.

Our medical providers are very well trained, we see flocks of them recruited for American Hospitals/Clinics. [I still believe I got better surgical care in a local hospital than my mom did at Mayo Clinic [paid out-of-pocket]. I've worked for the famous Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok where the movies stars and celebrities go... they have beautiful decor but medi is about the same]

I tried to check the funding figures but they were evasive. Best I could figure, the federal government pays 32% of the costs of the medicare program, provinces pay 65%, donations/fund raising pays the difference. The federal government increases the tax on gas of which 40 cents per gallon goes to Medicare for distribution [or so the PR suggests].

Yes, we pay much higher income tax, value added tax, and a list of tax that is just too long. In exchange we have a 'Nanny' state, a government that looks after us from cradle to grave. If you saw the benefits handed out to mothers, refugees, immigrants, family reunification, start-up business, environmental commodes, university subsidies, social services, native care, subsidy, care and feeding of homless and so much more...you'd understand why we pay such high taxes. Also we have a gigantic sized country and a tiny population 35 million