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I will to answer as best I can as an everyday Canadian. In travelling in the USA, I have found most Americans have little knowledge of how our health system actually works, including Bernie Sanders. Most Canadians and Europeans view health care, like education, as a basic tenet of our national values. So yes, everyone is covered, whether they work or not. It is not considered a subsidy of some people by other people, but a basic human right. And yes we get to pick our own doctor and have an input into our treatment options.
And overall we pay significantly lower overall costs per capita than in the USA, with longer life expectancy and better quality of life in general, according to most indices that measure these things. There is a chart earlier in this thread that illustrates the costs and outcomes and National Geographic magazine had a good article a few months ago on the same issue that reinforced this point. Early preventative care is almost always less expensive than acute care.
First there is no monolithic "Canadian" health care system. In Canada, there is an overall federal health act, which sets minimum standards for each province in order to be eligible for federal health grants. Each province has its own health system. They have their differences, but they are all very similar because of the Canada Health Act. The system is not normally funded by sources such as property taxes or direct charges, but through our income tax system and out of overall federal and provincial general revenues.
The physicians and hospitals bill the province for their procedures, at rates set out in each provincial plan. This means they are paid quickly and do not have to worry about receivables nor bad debt. If a doctor or hospital participates in the government programme (and almost all do), they cannot do any direct billing to a client for that procedure. While our doctors make lower gross incomes generally than doctors in the USA, they also tend to have lower overhead costs and they also do not face the huge liability insurance premiums that most doctors in the USA pay. Also, drug costs are regulated in consultation with the drug companies, if they wish to sell their drug in Canada, and generic drugs are encouraged once the patent protection period is past.
Most of the funding for these plans comes from income taxes, and therefore general government revenue, although there are some differences by province. With the exception of the province of Quebec, we file a single combined federal/provincial income tax form each year. The federal tax rates are consistent across the country, but each province sets its own provincial portion of the tax rate. The federal government administers the whole tax system through the Canada Revenue Agency (our version of the IRS) and remits the provincial income taxes collected to each province.
Our combined general personal income tax rates are higher to compensate for the fact that they are the primary source to fund our medical system. However, there may also be direct health tax surcharges on the income tax returns, but it varies by province. For instance in Ontario, there is a direct health levy on employers when filing their corporate tax returns. It only applies where the payroll is in excess of $400,000 per year, so smaller businesses are exempt. Also, there is a personal health care surcharge on the personal income tax return in Ontario, that increases with income, but also has a low-level initial exemption.
Is the system perfect? No system is and ours is no exception. But overall it works extremely well. Waiting lists are a standard threat trotted out by the vested interests in the US health care industry trying to protect their significant profit margins. Don't believe everything you hear. Since we have access here to both our own media broadcasts, but also those from across the border, we see the often less-than-truthful stories and information provided by the US health care industry in its denigration of universal health care.
Are there waiting lists? Sometimes...but they vary by procedure and by province, depending upon priorities. But if you have a stroke or a heart attack or anything else that is immediately life-threatening, no one is putting you on a waiting list!! Waiting lists were more common a few years ago, but with an aging population we have made larger investments in health care to help eliminate or reduce such bottle necks where possible, but they do still exist.
Most waiting lists are for non-urgent, non-emergency care. If you need new knees, you don't just get them on demand. Cases are triaged, with those most in need going to the head of the line and the rest wait their turn. It is a necessary compromise to make the system work, but overall most of us not only accept it, but think it is generally fairer as well. Hope this helps give everyone a better understanding, although I am certainly no expert, except as I have experienced it myself and with friends and family.
Thanks for the information! I have never heard a Canadian complain about their health care system, unlike here in the USA! It seems like a much better system than ours for sure.