The Problem with Canadian Healthcare

As an American living in Canada, I can personally attest to long wait times for doctors and diagonstics that dont exist in the US. Recently, my father had a terrible back problem and had to wait for 3 months in excruciating pain for an MRI and it took me 2 weeks of waiting to see my physician. So ya, the right wing propaganda machine is right... sort of.

The problem with the Canadian health care system is a problem that is almost unique to Canada in the industrialized world: a severe shortage of doctors. Although its a little dated, a National Post article from January 2008 puts it best

It's clear we have a problem. The country has approximately 15,000 too few doctors, a figure roughly double the total number of students in all years of study at our 17 medical schools combined. At a doctor-patient ratio of just 2.3 per 1,000 population, we are 24th on the list of 28 industrialized countries. Approximately 1.5 million Canadians cannot find a family physician as a result.

The reason for this shortage stems from an educational system that cannot keep up with the increasing demand for doctors. Now unless the current health care plans include serious overhauls of the American post-secondary education system, (a system which despite problems with cost, truly is the best in the world) I doubt any health care reform, even a Canadian style single payer, will result in Canadian style waiting lists