[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

BuffaloJim, no worries, I am not offended by your remarks, not at all. It's just without knowing the specifics of a situation, it can't really be explored. No-one I know has experienced the types of situations you described. As far as being denied life-saving cancer treatment, sorry, but I don't believe that. Of course the Canadian Health Care System isn't perfect, but it's free. I've been reading about the angst caused by the recent VHS announcement. It sounds as if choosing a health care plan in the US is enormously complicated!

I've experienced two critical situations in my life. I've been put at the head of the line in Emerg by Triage, and received immediate and awesome treatment. I know a bit about our health-care system first-hand - one situation in 2005 required four months in hospital, where I received the best of care, completely free! But then I've heard people complain bitterly about wait time in Emerg when they've gone there with a cold! Two completely different senarios.

Elective surgeries have longer wait times. You mentioned a friend who took his daughter to the US for eye surgery. It's true that LASIK surgery isn't covered in Canada. But Cataract surgery certainly is!

Here is a situation I personally encountered recently. I returned to Canada from The Villages in May, in need of a knee replacement. I was told by an Orthopedic Surgeon at a small hospital close to my home that he has a Walt list of two years. So I drove for two hours to a Knee/Hip Clinic affiliated with a large Toronto Hospital which is known to have excellent wait times. I was approved for surgery in June and had a knee replacement July 6.

I think with flexibility and persistence, Canada offers excellent free healthcare.

I suspect that just as individual healthcare experiences in the U.S. vary greatly, the same is true in the Canadian system. For example, a resident in your town that could not travel to Toronto would be stuck with the two year wait. But you are deluding yourself by referring to it as "free" Income tax? GST? PST?. Nothing is "free", even Canada spends over 10% of its GDP on healthcare. But I do believe there is free care for lobsters.