actually we do have the speciallists that America has. We have an excellent medical education system that is second to no other country.
the truth is that I would be bounced from orthopedist to orthopedist in canada and none would have sent me to an allergist. This is a fact. my wheat problem took its face in nerve damage, especially in my right elbow and now knee. both would have been considered orthpedic problems.
So I would have to go through years of orthopedists and still have none send me to an allergist. furthermore, being that I am young and not showing the wheat allergy in an outward fashion, a stool test would be the only working version, not the tests with pricking, blood, and what not. The limited labs that do this particular testing are in America.
you further bring up that there are long waiting lists. You get what you pay for.
No, what you pay for are HMOs which have to pay for advertising, additional layers of management, profit holders/dividend receivers, and astronomical litigation protection fees for doctors and hospitals, not to mention much higher prices for pharmaceuticals.
granted, government regulations are an impediment to good healthcare and they exist in america. that is a problem. ideally, government would not mess with healthcare at all.
I do find it silly that you mention your cheaper prices on drugs because you have price ceilings. Those drugs are made in america and sold to canada cheaper than they sell it to americans. IF America would adopt price ceilings (and not allow the monopolization of drug developments like America) American drug companies would simply stop producing the drugs they usually would and advance would stop. This would lead to not only dramatic shortages in America, but then Canada would literally get a taste of its own medicine.
Essentially, lacking better words for it, Canada is holding up American drug companies because there is no incentive NOT to make at least some profit in Canada. However, the moment they stop ripping off Americans, Canada would face collasal drug shortages.
what does a cold country have to do with a higher life expectancy? There is no correllate between living in a cold country and health.
You might eb right now come to think of it. In the past, warmer climates spawned diseases and plagues from insects, scewing the statistics. I’m not sure if that is relevant today.
Just because northern European countries also have universal healthcare and have higher life expectancy rates does not have much to do with cold weather.
As for our “relatively unhealthy immigrant population” - this is an ignorant statement. Our aboriginal population is quite unhealthy with a massive amount of diabetes, HIV, CVD, etc. Also Canada has a very high proportion of immigrants - possibly as high or higher than that of the US.
Okay, let me clear up a few blatantly lies.
1. America has a very unhealthy/alcoholic Native American population. it is a sad but true fact.
2. 1% of America’s population is native American, 13% of it is black, and about 13% hispanic. All of these ethnicities on average have lower incomes than Asians and Whites. In America, 10% of its population is foreign born according to the 1990 census.
While America had 9 million legal immigrants (it probably actually has been double), which would account for anywhere from 3 to 6 % of America’s population.
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/etoimm/tables/provs/immsh.cfm
^^^ Meanwhile in Canada, such immigrants are probably closer to 0.5% to 1.0% approximately.
3. Canada’s population is approximately 6.3 percent non-white and asian (http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/peopleandsociety/population/mcr4189?l=5&r=0&c=2).
but you may have to. Not for anything that you have done, but simply because of bad luck. The thing is, as long as you have an insurance policy, you ARE paying for it, and you are paying more than in a country with universal healthcare.
If America ridded itself of its medical regulations, the stranglehold of lawyers and insurance companies would die. Smokers pay more for their insurance anyway.