dsteve: Everyone has medical insurance which covers everything from a sliver to body part transplant whether in an office, clinic, ER centre, hospital or a long term care facility...an some are covered for all private nursing home care [private care has income barriers].
Doctors are paid per person seen or per procedure. Both the Board of the Medical Assoc. and the Gov't hire professional negotiators to hammer out the fee schedule and length of time it will be in effect. That schedule may seem lower to American physicians but it takes into account that there is no pro bono, no default, no time lapse and one clerk in most large clinics can easily manage all the billing to a single insurer. Drs. in individual practice use an agency.
Since the Canadian system was devised there have been gia-normous changes in medical treatment and care. The costs have hugely increased due to new technologies, constant replacing of equipment, and transplants. EMS education has them keeping people alive during transport. People who are much sicker can recover, and people living longer have more body parts break-down.
I am guessing if a physician plans a procedure that is not in the schedule, s/he would likely need his Board's approval. The government does not decide who shall have and who shall be denied.
We liken universal medical care to universal education. We feel or have been brainwashed to believe that every child [including those that are challenged] is entitled to a reasonable Education K-12. Teachers must meet required credentials; both principals and parents have the power [with cause] to turf non performing teachers. There is a good system of scholarship, grants and loans that gets people through public college, trade/technical school or university. I agree we lack the prestige of your top ten but they accept Canadian students without problem so long as they can pay the double or triple costs required for foreign students.
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