Long wait times costs Canadians time and money.
health care wait times
Federal regulations discourage provinces from emulating other countries that deliver universal health care without long wait times.
Hospital care in Germany is delivered by 833 public, 1,040 not-for-profit, and 1,356 for-profit hospitals.
Only four provinces allow people to buy private insurance for the kinds of health care provided by the government system.
France spends slightly less (as a percentage of GDP) on health care than Canada, and has a higher number of physicians and hospital beds, and lower wait times.
The problem of a high-cost low-performance system is not just a provincial one—but a Canadian one.
Survey found 70 per cent of Canadian primary care doctors thought their patients often experienced long wait times to see a specialist—the worst showing of any country surveyed.
Australia generally has more medical resources, lower wait times and comparable health outcomes.
Considering the cost of waiting for medically necessary specialist treatment, how much would Canadians be willing to pay in order to eliminate their wait?