Why is life expectancy way lower in the US than the other civilized countries

[*michaelsean*]

(09-05-2023, 04:57 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: 1. Care is 100% NOT better than us.
2. SSF said it best in terms of, "talent:" you guys have more cosmetic surgeons (a shit-ton more) and experimental surgeons, not to mention the athletic side of things, with the major 4 sports being headquartered in the country.


Yeah, we don't.

Like, not at all.

If Canadians go down to the US for healthcare, it is for one of three things:

1. They need a cosmetic surgery that is not, "legal," in our country
2. They need an experimental or radical new surgery/treatment for their ailment (such as Lyme disease, of which you guys have many more experimental treatments), that is not, "legal," in our country.
3. They are American AND/or have copious amounts of money and just choose to skip the wait here.

There is one flaw with our system and it isn't the system's fault: long wait times.

The long wait times are due to not having enough insurance-covered doctors in the country, as the population has increased but the amount of doctors has not increased too much, thus for universal healthcare, you need to get in line and wait your turn.

But:

A. this isn't as bad as it seems and
B. those who are more in-need get moved up if necessary

Also the quality of care is phenomenal, I guarantee the hospital stay when my son was born was as good if not better than what you guys have down there and it was all free, again.

The dearth of doctors is the cause for long wait times, namely with specialists: there just aren't enough to serve all of the people need it.

I waited 5 weeks to have my cancer surgery, having a CT Scan and MRI in between my initial appointment and the surgery itself, then biopsies for the malignant tissue, followed by 5 years (ended up being 6 due to moving to Calgary lol) of follow-up appointments.

All free, didn't pay a cent.

Sure you may get seen in 2 weeks if you get seen in the US, but how much will it cost out of pocket? Unless I'm literally on my deathbed, I'll wait even 2 months longer to get seen, if it is free, thank you.

A co-worker had a Burrow and Carsone injury back in January and had her surgery in March, followed by physiotherapy and rehab ever since. All free.

Yes, she waited a little over 2 months, but all free.

People coming down to the US is like the bullshit convoy from last year: sure, SOME people may be doing it and SOME people may not like the healthcare, but that's literally like 7% of the entire affected population and I can promise that 6.5% of said population, have the financial means to come down to the US.

Also, in that first article, Perth and the place that guy are from are rural towns, where not only is there less healthcare setup, but they also lean HEAVILY to the right, politically and who is the small minority advocating for privatised healthcare in Canada?

Exactly.

EDIT* I realise that it sounds snarky, but it wasn't my intention: I'm just sick of the narrative that we hate our free healthcare, when the overwhelming majority have no issues with it at all, outside of long wait times.

And I will say that between my wife and myself, since 2011, we have had to go to the hospital a combined 7 times for various things: the longest either of us had to wait to be seen or to receive care, was *maybe* 20 minutes.

I just wish you’d stop saying it’s free. There is no cost at the time of treatment. It may still be cheaper to you, but it’s not free.