美国. president Obama has begun the process of revamping the U.S. health care system, 与目标 providing health insurance for the millions of uninsured 美国人 — a goal that, at least in theory, 加拿大已经取得. 根据 加拿大卫生部:

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

不过, 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. 随着 加拿大广播公司 报告, “Long waits for diagnostic tests, access to specialists and some surgeries 长期以来 at the heart of complaints about the failings of Canada’s health-care system.”

因此， what’s a country to do?

法国, 说： 环球邮报 专栏作家 lysiane加格农:

在加拿大, 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. 在法国, 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.

偶尔, 虽然, my French friends do complain about their health-care system. They say it has deteriorated. 一个朋友, 例如, 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, 法国是否. 1, 而 加拿大30日 和 在中美. 37日.

If you’re 加拿大新, and you’re trying to decipher the Canadian health care system, 看看这个 comparison of international health care systems 以及 Health Canada website.

图片©卡罗琳乙. 海勒