EUA. president Obama has begun the process of revamping the U.S. health care system, com o objetivo de providing health insurance for the millions of uninsured Americanos — a goal that, pelo menos em teoria, Canadá já atingiu. Conforme Saúde do Canadá:

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

No entanto, 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. À medida que o CBC relatado, “Long waits for diagnostic tests, access to specialists and some surgeries têm sido há muito tempo at the heart of complaints about the failings of Canada’s health-care system.”

Assim what’s a country to do?

Faça como os franceses, diz Globe and Mail cronista Lysiane Gagnon:

No Canadá, 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. Em França, 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.

Ocasionalmente, embora, my French friends do complain about their health-care system. They say it has deteriorated. Um amigo, por exemplo, 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, França ficou em. 1, enquanto O Canadá foi 30 e os EUA. 37º.

If you’re novo para o Canadá, and you’re trying to decipher the Canadian health care system, confira este comparison of international health care systems bem como o Health Canada website.

Fotografia © Carolyn B. Heller