Sutherland's maternal grandfather was the Premier of Saskatchewan who introduced a single-payer system to the province. Tommy Douglas' idea proved successful and spread eventually to the rest of Canada. He was voted the "Greatest Canadian" in a Canadian TV poll, and was honored with a movie based on his life.
2. Douglas' New Democrat Party Has Never Formed a Federal Government
Despite having bragging rights to the creation, the NDP has failed for many years on a Federal level. For many left-wing voters tended to side with the Liberal party rather than the New Democrats when it comes to the House of Commons. However the Liberal Party suffered a massive defeat in the last election, and the party's leader Jack Layton came close to becoming Prime Minister, but is now the Leader of the Opposition to the Stephen Harper's Conservative Majority Government. His party actively aims to vastly improve Medicare's problems.
3. They Spend Less on Their Medicare Than We Do Ours
Like almost every country with universal health care, their system actually pays less than what we pay for Medicare and Medicaid. Yet we have millions with no coverage at all. The main reason? 1/3 of all medical bills are the actual billing part, so under a single payer health care system that portion of the healthcare system is almost non-existent.
4. Americans Buy Prescription Drugs From Canada
Many Americans buy their medicine from Canada since most medication is far cheaper over there than it is here. They can either get them online, or by travelling there personally (which is reasonable only for people near the border) and buying them in person. Annual sales of all American-Canadian Rx purchases are estimated at 1 billion dollars a year.
5. Canadians Can Buy Private Insurance and See Private Doctors
Despite Republicans saying that most of these countries have systems that "take over" healthcare, it isn't all run by the government. There are private clinics, and health insurance plans just like America.
By: Adam Rankin
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