Hacker News

The Canadian single payer system is a target for American health insurance companies, and they would love to convince you there is a waiting list crisis.

There's a bit of information out there on the topic, do a little research before forming an opinion from a single source.

"A "waiting list" is a list that patients are enrolled in once they opt to pursue an elective procedure, assuming that they cannot get this procedure performed immediately. In Canada, waiting lists do NOT exist for emergency procedures. It is a myth that Canadians with serious, life-threatening illnesses are enrolled on a waiting list before they can receive life-saving therapies."

What this think tank data doesn't clarify is how many of these people died because they did not get the surgery they were waiting for.

In not going to defend Canada's health care system, it's different for every province, but I can say anecdotally that it took me just shy of ten years to get a primary care doctor. I was on that list so long I moved four times, yet they still were able to contact me when I moved to an area that had availability.