अमेरिका. president Obama has begun the process of revamping the U.S. health care system, के लक्ष्य के साथ providing health insurance for the millions of uninsured अमेरिकियों — a goal that, at least in theory, कनाडा पहले ही हासिल की है. के अनुसार स्वास्थ्य कनाडा:

Canada’s national health insurance program, often referred to as “चिकित्सा,” is designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis.

तथापि, the most vexing aspect of the Canadian health care system — to newcomers and long-time residents alike — may be the often-lengthy wait times for services. के रूप में सीबीसी की रिपोर्ट, “Long waits for diagnostic tests, access to specialists and some surgeries लंबे समय दिया गया है at the heart of complaints about the failings of Canada’s health-care system.”

इतना what’s a country to do?

के रूप में फ्रेंच करना, कहते हैं ग्लोब एंड मेल स्तम्भकार Lysiane Gagnon:

कनाडा में, people keep exchanging horror tales about how long they had to wait in emergency wards or for an operation or even for a doctor’s appointment. It’s a common topic of conversation. फ्रांस में, a country I know well, waiting times is a subject no one talks about, for the simple reason that people are cared for without delay.

कभी कभी, यद्यपि, my French friends do complain about their health-care system. They say it has deteriorated. एक दोस्त, उदाहरण के लिए, recently told me that “we no longer can call doctors at their home on the weekend, and house calls are difficult to get.” To a Canadian ear, this sounds like a description of paradise.

Gagnon cites World Health Organization statistics indicating that among the countries with the best overall health performance, फ्रांस नहीं था. 1, जब कनाडा 30 था और अमेरिका. 37वें.

If you’re कनाडा के लिए नए, and you’re trying to decipher the Canadian health care system, बाहर यह जाँच comparison of international health care systems के रूप में अच्छी तरह के रूप में Health Canada website.

फोटो © कैरोलिन बी. हेल्लर