Statistics Canada
Median waiting times for non-emergency surgeries, household population aged
15 and over, Canada and provinces, 2003
Median waiting time (weeks): 4.3
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-401-XIE/2002000/tables/html/at007_en.htm
About Statistics Canada:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/about/abtstc.htm
Comment: Calls for national health insurance in the United States are
frequently countered with the claim that such a transformation would result in excessive delays in care, “like they have in Canada.”
First of all, implied in that comment is the principle that queues should be reduced by removing some individuals from the waiting list. We currently do this up front by the simple measure of making care unaffordable for the uninsured and under-insured. Most policymakers across the political spectrum
believe that this is not ethically acceptable.
But what is the reality in Canada? Emergency surgeries are not a problem; they are provided for immediately. On the other hand, the median time for non-emergency surgery is four weeks, which is an interval that is comparable to that in the United States. The major difference is that queues in the United States are accessible only for those with the ability to pay, whereas, in Canada, no person is excluded based on inability to pay.
It is true that selected elective surgeries may be delayed longer than four weeks (offset by an equal number that have their surgeries in less than four weeks). But it is important to realize that these numbers were for 2003. Since then, Prime Minister Paul Martin made improving access to health care his number one priority in his election campaign. He is already delivering on his promise by providing federal funds to improve capacity in areas where deficiencies exist.
Our current level of health care spending, $1.9 trillion, is more than enough to ensure adequate capacity in our entire system. The opponents of national health insurance simply are not telling the truth when they claim that including everyone will automatically result in excessive delays in care. I won’t call them liars, even if that’s what they really are.