Transparency is good and all, but there is anther way. In most advanced economies professional bureaucracy figures out the costs. Ordinary folks focus on getting healthy, not on costs.
Again, I have lived there, and the numbers seem on the upper end of plausible for non-essential surgery like breast reduction, but extremely bogus for anything important. A day or two was normal for routine treatments.
The official government figures, where about half of patients get care within 24 hours, and about 90% within 48, are much more in line with my experience.
I know someone personally who had to wait months to see somebody. He said screw it and came to the states for care instead (dual citizenship). He was able to see a specialist immediately and found out he was grossly misdiagnosed.
And I know people in the USA who have gone to Canada or India for medical tourism because they could not get good care at an affordable price in the USA. But these are anecdotes.
When you look at the stats aggregated by OECD, Canada is indeed among the worst public health services in the developed world, but it still provides better care to the median earner than the US health system, at half the aggregated cost per capita.
The Fraser institute, which published this study, has a right wing bias and is funded by the Koch Brothers. It seeks to displace the public system in Canada with private healthcare modelled after the US. While they claim independence and give their research away freely, one should be aware of their interests.
The fact you think Britain has a single NHS doesn't inspire confidence in your level of knowledge, but let's hear it: why is the system so poor in the UK?
> The fact you think Britain has a single NHS doesn't inspire confidence in your level of knowledge
Can you point me to where I say that? You've just killed any potential discussion by arguing in bad faith. Why should I listen to anything you have to say on the subject now that I know your intentions are hostile and that you're not open to debate?
This works terribly for most advanced economies, Britain and Canada in particular.