[colmvp]

"Since the US acts as a safety valve for Canada (look at the number of Canadians getting treatment in the US)..."

While I don't doubt that there ARE Canadians who travel to the United States for medical treatment, I'd be curious as to the percentage of the population.

Growing up in both countries, I can say with certainty I had less hesitations in the Canadian system. In America, I worry all the time about switching jobs and figuring out healthplans. In Canada, I always assumed that I'd be covered in some form.

[protomyth]

The old joke in Grand Forks, ND was that "Friendly Manitoba" license plates outnumber ND license plates. It was a big enough issue that in 2009, Canadian health agencies were contracting with hospitals in border cities[1]. Plus, the US has a lower cancer mortality rate than Canada.

One driving factor is waiting lists in Canada are much longer than in the US (well, except at IHS). This drives Canadians to seek treatment in the US. There are several studies done on this.

The only real advantage to the Canadian system is that it isn't tied to your employer. In pretty much all other respects[2] it is not as good in either time taken or results.

[1] http://www.freep.com/article/20090820/BUSINESS06/908200420/1...

[2] Costs are debatable, but do remember the government costs money and is not free

[onetwothreefour]

Your stats are again, bullshit.