[mistercow]

> there isn't a single large country where it works

The healthcare system in Canada seems to be working a lot better than the one here. Is that large enough?

[refurb]

You mean the one where the Supreme Court of Canada agreed that the delays in the treatment of cancer in combination with a ban on private insurance were violating Canadian citizens' rights?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaoulli_v._Quebec_(Attorney_Ge...

[mistercow]

Is the bar "works perfectly" or "works better than what we have in the US"?

[selectiveshift]

The population of Canada is approx 35 million, whereas population of the United States is over 300 million. Canada is not a large country population wise.

[nisse72]

And presumably, there are nearly 10 times as many taxpayers in the US to fund such a system. Why do the absolute numbers matter? In fact, shouldn't there be better economies of scale in the larger country?

[mistercow]

OK, Japan then. 125 million people, universal health coverage, ranked 10th in the world by WHO (the US is ranked 38).

[cmircea]

I hate to say it, but:

owned

[maxxxxx]

Why is this always used as an excuse why the US is different? The US has ten times more people, hence 10 time more tax payers. If anything I would expect things to be easier for the US because of its scale.

[AlexandrB]

Canada has significant costs associated with delivering health care service to remote areas because of its low population density. A US public system should be more efficient, not less.