Canada Medicare has its drawbacks. But it works. Health care remains privately delivered but the entire cost of paying for health care is defrayed through high taxes. Every one pays into the system - eliminating the free rider problem.
Of course Americans would not stomach the kind of taxation levels necessary to make it work. That is why single payer has never made much headway here. Even in liberal Vermont, its a hard sell.
Absolutely true. Most Canadians are honest enough to tell you that “our health care system isn’t free, we pay a tremendous amount in taxes for it”.
“eliminating the free rider problem.”
Except for the 47% that do not pay taxes.
It works largely because US healthcare is readily available. Our hospitals are full of Canadians who cannot get timely care at home. I understand that Florida hospitals are busy in the winter with Canadian patients as well.
Canada also has the luxury of being protected within the American security umbrella, and thus gets away with spending minimal amounts on defense. An American single-payer system is impossible for this reason—we can’t essentially demilitarize the way Canada has.