Since the US acts as a safety valve for Canada (look at the number of Canadians getting treatment in the US) and the USA's version of public health care for a small subset of the population is a disaster (google: don't get sick after june), I would much rather we pick some solutions other than public health care.
I really wish the US had started with better Health Savings Accounts, Catastrophic Insurance[1], tort reform, and reforming how we pay doctors (Medicaid is having problems with new doctors not accepting it). Moving on from there would have been better.
[1 - edit] 100% paid for a cost over some figure like $50,000 - cannot remember url of proposal
"Since the US acts as a safety valve for Canada (look at the number of Canadians getting treatment in the US)..."
While I don't doubt that there ARE Canadians who travel to the United States for medical treatment, I'd be curious as to the percentage of the population.
Growing up in both countries, I can say with certainty I had less hesitations in the Canadian system. In America, I worry all the time about switching jobs and figuring out healthplans. In Canada, I always assumed that I'd be covered in some form.
The old joke in Grand Forks, ND was that "Friendly Manitoba" license plates outnumber ND license plates. It was a big enough issue that in 2009, Canadian health agencies were contracting with hospitals in border cities[1]. Plus, the US has a lower cancer mortality rate than Canada.
One driving factor is waiting lists in Canada are much longer than in the US (well, except at IHS). This drives Canadians to seek treatment in the US. There are several studies done on this.
The only real advantage to the Canadian system is that it isn't tied to your employer. In pretty much all other respects[2] it is not as good in either time taken or results.
"Ah, the age old "tort reform" line. Haven't heard that one in a while."
I would guess that your not following all of the issues. Tort reform is going to have to be on the table or we are going to lose more general practitioners (not terribly popular now) and OB/GYNs. Insurance costs are not just a patient issue.
"Your stats about Canadians is total BS."
Not really sure how to respond to this one. If you mean the waiting list times, then you are wrong. If you mean the cancer survival rates, that you are wrong. These are not exactly in dispute and are very much related.
I really wish the US had started with better Health Savings Accounts, Catastrophic Insurance[1], tort reform, and reforming how we pay doctors (Medicaid is having problems with new doctors not accepting it). Moving on from there would have been better.
[1 - edit] 100% paid for a cost over some figure like $50,000 - cannot remember url of proposal