Canadians starting to demand the privatized USA Health Care system.......

[SickOfTheOnePct]

38. What is it with some at DU that they assume that anyone they don't agree with is a freeper?

Canadians can purchase supplemental private coverage for services that are not covered by the public plan, but cannot purchase private insurance for basic services.

Emphasis mine.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2009/08/11/170904/npr-report-canada/

Since 2005, wait times have been reduced by:
191 days (61%) for cataract surgery
156 days (44%) for hip replacement
212 days (48%) for knee replacement
17 days (21%) for cancer surgery
27 days (48%) for angiography
11 days (39%) for angioplasty
4 days (8%) for bypass surgery

http://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2012/03/ontario-wait-times-leader.html

If 156 days is a 44% reduction for hip replacement, that means in 2005 it was 355 days, and is now 199 days (roughly 6.6 months)

If 212 days is a 48% reduction for knee replacement, that means in 2005 it was 442 days, and is now 230 days (roughly 7.6 months)

No, not a year, but then again this is an average for one province.

It is not a perfect system, but it has its merits. For people like my 55-year-old Aunt Betty, who has been waiting for 14 months for knee-replacement surgery due to a long history of arthritis, it is the superior system. Her $35,000-plus surgery is finally scheduled for next month. She has been in pain, and her quality of life has been compromised. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Aunt Betty — who lives on a fixed income and could never afford private health insurance, much less the cost of the surgery and requisite follow-up care — will soon sport a new, high-tech knee. Waiting 14 months for the procedure is easy when the alternative is living in pain for the rest of your life.

http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_12523427

A really good op-ed debunking myths about Canadian healthcare. Long waits for elective surgery is not one of the myths he debunked.