According to McClatchy, Canadians are much more likely than Americans to say they have access to all the affordable health care they need, but much more likely to gripe about waiting times.
The figures are in this graphic below
Now this tells us nothing about the actual waiting times, or the actual quality of care. It tells us only about perceptions. Canadians perceive that they are doing fine on the big issue: access to affordable health care; Americans do not. Canadians are much more likely to perceive that they are doing more poorly on a secondary issue: waiting periods. Humans being humans, the question arises. Is there a qualitative difference between the two systems with regard to waiting times, or is it the case that everyone likes to gripe, and if they’re satisfied with one thing, they’ll gripe about something else? I don’t know the answer on the waiting time issue, but I would make one observation. I review a lot of medical records as part of my disability practice. Waiting times can be impressive even here, and for folks without insurance the waiting time is often forever, which I suspect exceeds any waiting period experienced in Canada. It’s quite possible that the Americans are less unhappy about waiting periods because they’re just tickled pink to be able to see a doctor at all, while Canadians take access to health care for granted.
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