Sue, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. I can't imagine the worry you face for him on a daily basis.
Although I'm not Wendy, I'm going to jump in with a response.
There are undeniable problems with the Canadian health care system. My father had several misdiagnoses by his family doctor (obviously possible under any system), but then a very long wait to see a specialist once the doctor was finally willing to refer him...bottom line was that his lower leg had to be amputated. Perhaps if he had been living in the US, they would have been able to solve the problem more quickly.
There are advantages too. Everyone is insured. It doesn't matter if you're working or who you work for. And although medical costs are high there, of course, when my son was born they kept me in the hospital for 6 days after my C-section to ensure no complications from the surgery, etc. My understanding is that US health plans would have wanted me kicked out after 2-3 days.
Living here in the US, I've had no complaints with any of our insurance coverage. My husband is a professor, and universities typically offer good benefit plans for their employees. But since it is all linked to employment, what happens if you work for a company too small to be required to offer a health plan. I don't know how affordable self-purchased coverage is. A lot of low wage-earners who don't have coverage don't visit doctors at all, or overfill the emergency rooms when their children are sick because they can't afford an office visit. That's my main complaint about the US system - the lucky ones are fine, but if you're not covered...you're in a lot of trouble.
So there are advantages and disadvantages to each system. There are strong proponents of socialized health care in the US, who want to develop a universal plan, as well as strong opponents to the system in Canada who want to move closer to the US system.
Everyone has their personal preferences, and hopefully as many as possible are able to live within their system without too many problems.
ETA: I forgot to talk about the snowbirds. They're going to head south anyway for the weather. I don't know how much coverage that the provinces offer for medical care outside of Canada, and for how long. Do some of them "save up" to get procedures in the States because they can't get them in Canada? Perhaps...
Kathy
