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Comment by mfoy_ | Hacker News Reader

You forgot:

3. Canadians pay for their health care in tax, anyways.

(However: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0411/do-canadian...)

There's still 5% of the US budget being spent on health care: https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/trumpdiscpie_la...

Of course, over ten times as much is spent on the military. How can a country with no enemies nearby justify spending 60% of their budget on the military? Especially given how the only ones hostile to them are the ones they pissed off.

That budget doesn't include SSI or Medicare

"In 2004, Canada government-spending was $2,120 (in US dollars) per person, while the United States government-spending $2,724."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_healthcare_s...

You forgot:

4. Americans pay for health insurance through private companies, anyway. And then they still don't get the care they need.

The list was "common argument by American's against the Canadian system", so why would they argue what you are saying?

You forgot:

3. This is actually a good thing, because we get health care when we need it and aren't exposed to crippling debt?

(your system entirely indefensible from every possible view point)

aren't exposed to crippling debt

Whoa there. My family has a good friend whose child was born with a severe genetic disease in Canada. They are paying a ton out of pocket for care for their child since the gov't doesn't pay (night nurse, some physiotherapy). Both parents are having to work full time just to pay the medical bills.

For your average Canadian everything gets paid for, but if you have special needs, you're sometimes on the hook big time.

While unfortunate for them (and their child!) that's still a better situation than being in the US.

If they were in the US and gainfully employed, a lot of that extra care would be covered by their medical insurance.

Of course, if they lost their job they'd be SOL.

Maybe, maybe not. Medical bankruptcies also happen to people fully insured.

I think you're using an outlier to compare to an entire population, the argument doesn't really hold up.

(indeed, it's unfortunate for your friend and I'm sorry that they're in that situation)

For the average person though (which, when we talk about American healthcare, is largely who we are discussing), and a for the majority of the population, things work out very differently. Myself and the members of my family have had countless hospital stays, ER visits, surgeries, checkups, ambulance rides (approx $300 flat fee), assessments, scans and x-rays. All without any of us carrying any debt or dealing with any related financial hardship (lower tax bracket, so no special benefit plans or anything).

Friend's kid's appendix needed removal, multiple night stay at the hospital. No cost. What does that look like in America?

I had a deviated septum and didn't breath great. I breath just fine now after my totally covered septoplasty. What does that look like in America?

Kids recently got strep throat and needed a doctors appointment to get a prescription for antibiotics ($42 to cover the prescription) What does that look like in America? (honestly I'm curious about this one, would it be more than a couple hundred dollars for that?)

edit (spelling)

> Kids recently got strep throat and needed a doctors appointment to get a prescription for antibiotics ($42 to cover the prescription) What does that look like in America? (honestly I'm curious about this one, would it be more than a couple hundred dollars for that?)

It will depend upon your insurance plan, but this situation is pretty comparable. You'd likely pay a $20ish copay at the doctor's office and $20ish at the pharmacy.

The list was "common argument by American's against the Canadian system", so why would they argue what you are saying?

Gonna go ahead and chalk that up to reading comprehension fails. Good times

I guess I'm just overly eager to tell Americans how crazy the system they accept is

And Americans pay more per-capita for federal-funded healthcare than Canadians do… just the Canadians get universal coverage for it. The US manages to spend as much public money on healthcare as most other western countries do, and gets much less for it.

Interestingly, America could fund a Canadian style healthcare system, covering everyone, using _just_ the existing federal healthcare spending (around 2 trillion), completely eliminating the need for private sector spending on healthcare (around 1 trillion). No need to raise taxes. Employers and individuals save a ton of money. The economy strengthens and everyone in the country gets coverage.

As always, that we don't have healthcare for everyone is a political problem, not a spending problem.

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