roman mir, you do not understand how the system in Canada works. Doctors in Canada function as self employed businessmen. They are running a business. What a single pay system does involves only the part about who pays for everything. With the single payer system you remove all the bureacracy and complications of have hundred of different insurance companies (i.e doctors having to learn how to fill out hundred+ types of insurance forms). The single payer system has very little to do with competition in the field of medicine.
As to the doctor shortage issue, that is a completely other different question. Many years ago governments severely cut back on the funding of medical schools in Canada. And therefore, schools for quite a long time were bringing forth fewer new doctors. This is less of an issue of how medicine is done in the country and more of issue mistakes made in the educational system.
As someone who has lived in both countries. The American system ony has advantages if you are rich. If you are an average person you are much worse off. Better waiting for medical treatment than not getting any medical treatment at all. Some thirty million Americans are without medical coverage. That is about as many people as there are Canadians.
And good luck changing jobs, moving to a new state if you have a preexisting medical condition, because you will not be able to get any insurance companies to provide you coverage for it.
This is something no one ever mentions when comparing the two medical systems.
Peter
Slashdot Mirror
roman mir, you do not understand how the system in Canada works. Doctors in Canada function as self employed businessmen. They are running a business. What a single pay system does involves only the part about who pays for everything. With the single payer system you remove all the bureacracy and complications of have hundred of different insurance companies (i.e doctors having to learn how to fill out hundred+ types of insurance forms). The single payer system has very little to do with competition in the field of medicine. As to the doctor shortage issue, that is a completely other different question. Many years ago governments severely cut back on the funding of medical schools in Canada. And therefore, schools for quite a long time were bringing forth fewer new doctors. This is less of an issue of how medicine is done in the country and more of issue mistakes made in the educational system. As someone who has lived in both countries. The American system ony has advantages if you are rich. If you are an average person you are much worse off. Better waiting for medical treatment than not getting any medical treatment at all. Some thirty million Americans are without medical coverage. That is about as many people as there are Canadians. And good luck changing jobs, moving to a new state if you have a preexisting medical condition, because you will not be able to get any insurance companies to provide you coverage for it. This is something no one ever mentions when comparing the two medical systems. Peter
If you want to discourage something don't legislate it, tax the shit out of it.