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Originally Posted by snowman
I am curious to know how your national health care sytem works. Is it efficient? Who runs it? How is it funded? Do you get quality care? etc.
I ask because there is talk in California about a generalized health care system. Just curious to know how your works.
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I watch CBC news religiously (not digging the new graphics that debuted yesterday, BTW...No picture of the Toronto skyline during the opening of The National...NOT good), so here's my take.
The health care system is funded by the federal government, but is administered by the provinces. Canadians seem to have a love-hate relationship with their health care system. Most Canadians feel that the quality of the health care system is excellent, and moving towards an American-style system is not desirable. However, there is an issue with access to the health care system, as wait times, especially for joint replacement surgeries, can be pretty brutal. Also, there does not appear to be a standard for the health care system from province to province.
Now, an interesting factoid about the Canadian health care system is that it was created by Tommy Douglas, who is the father of actress Shirley Douglas, who happens to be the mother of Keifer Southerland. Tommy Douglas was voted Greatest Canadian on the CBC show Greatest Canadian.