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Our military is a government run single payer program. Exactly what is proposed by some for our health care system. So are our police and fire departments, courts and public education for that matter.Technically, neither our military or a government run tax-payer funded health care system would qualify as socialism, which is an economic system where the government runs/owns ALL the means of production. A socialist economy doesn’t have much if any private business enterprises. That’s obviously not the case in the US with thousands of private businesses. And that would still be the case if health care was a government run single payer program. We’d still have lots of private businesses.What we have in the US is a combination of private businesses and government programs. Government programs should not be confused with socialism which is an economic system different from capitalism. All wealthy capitalistic democracies have government programs and services. That doesn’t make them socialist or their economic system socialism. And all other wealthy democracies have universal health care run by or controlled by their government for the benefit of their citizens.But you make a great point, one I have also made a number of times in my posts.The real question is do we want a taxpayer funded single payer health care systemI’ve studied the issue of health care systems, and observed what they do in other wealthy democracies, and my answer is hell yes we do want a single payer government run health care system. Just don’t call it socialism as that imo scares some people. But I get your point and agree with it.

The World Health Organization surveys all 191 member countries for overall health outcomes. Remember, health care isn’t just “hospitals”. It includes efforts to eradicate disease, provide nutrition, and discourage bad lifestyle choices.https://www.who.int/healthinfo/paper30.pdf?ua=1It also measures average outcomes, not the outcomes expected if you get the best health care available.And France finished first in “Overall Efficiency” - best health care for money spent. Health care is universal for all residents. It’s easy to get time off for recovering from serious illnesses like cancer. In major cities, it can provide house calls. School meals are delicious and nutritious. Italy was a close second and Spain finished seventh behind a few small countries. The U.S. finished 37th ahead of Slovenia and Cuba.

CANADIAN HEALTH CARE EXPLAINED BY AN AMERICANWhat is missing here is that there are NO wait times for Canadians who need immediate medical attention.Wait times are organized in a triage system. The people who need it the most get it sooner.It is triage that allows everyone access to universal healthcare.Contrary to popular belief, there are private health clinics including private eye, MRI, and CAT scan clinics in Canada. These health clinics are not allowed to use public health dollars. You must pay out of pocket for these services.In my province of Alberta, many doctors now give you the option of paying to receive certain elective services immediately, or the option to wait a little bit longer in the public health care queue.The public health system contracts many services to privately run clinics. These clinics operate within the Universal health system but offer the same standards and service as for profit clinics in the US.For example when I needed to go to a spine clinic, I was refered to a privately run clinic that was funded by the Canadian health care system to treat, and offer non- surgical options before surgery was recommended.This not only cuts down on unecessary and costly procedures, it also places patients in the queue when all less evasive options were tried beforehand.Back surgery is not something to mess around with. All options should be tried before major surgery.I have been in the emergency room many times here in Canada and have received emergency surgery, MRI, or CAT scans within 30 minutes of being in the emergency room.Another thing is that there are regional differences in wait times across Canada. There is no universal wait time for anything.I have also received major spine surgery within 3 months when I needed it. This was elective and not emergency. This included full aftercare including daily physio, medically supervised excercise program, and daily home care for as long as I needed it. My bill was $0.My spine surgeon was one of the best in North America.Canadian doctors are trained to the highest standard and are recognized in the US and around the world.Everyone in Canada, rich or poor, has access to some of the worlds top medical professionals.There is no discrimination, and quality of care is not based on the ability to pay.What Americans don’t get is that preventative care, and post operative care is included in Universal health care. Home care is also free after surgery. So is physio.Home care is also offered to seniors and the disabled free of charge. A certain amount of long term care spaces at seniors homes are also funded fully or partly by universal health care. Most of these long term care facilities are run by charities, and funded by universal health care. A lot of them are quite nice and offer excellent care.Most medical equipment is also provided by universal health care including expensive implants and devices.Health care in the US is focused on treatment and not prevention.Preventative care is being pushed dramatically to lower health costs in Canada with good results.All elective surgery is going to have a longer wait times as it is a choice.As I am American, I hear horror stories when visiting the US about our Canadian health care system.This is absolute nonsense, usually spread by my Republican friends and family who are brainwashed into accepting price gouging by insurance companies. (BTW I am a registered Republican)There is no such thing as ‘death panels’ or people dying on waiting lists.I guarantee there is no difference in quality of care or competence of health professionals.I have been in US hospitals on numerous occasions and I have not noticed ANY difference except I received a huge bill when discharged from a US hospital.I have also lived in England and have used the NHS system while there. No difference except in the UK I was put in public wards with 4–6 people in a room.I always have the option of a private hospital room in Canada if available paid by my employer health benefits.*The federal government gives each province transfer payments for healthcare. It’s up to each province to budget and spend it responsibly.The federal government does not administer health care.There are times when a Canadian patient is sent to the US for treatment. This can occur when a patient urgently needs treatment that is not available in the Canadian province where they live. (This happens rarely)This service is provided at no cost to the patient and often (depending on the province) includes financial support for non medical costs such as accommodation etc. This is fully funded by universal healthcare. (Thank you Sam Robbins)Canada has a good health care system. While it has faults as any system does, I would not trade it for the US system.No co-pays, no deductibles, no insurance premiums.I live in Alberta where there are no health care premiums. I understand that some provinces do but they are miniscule in comparison.Canadians are fortunate, let’s stop complaining!(Thank you for your amazing comments and upvotes!)