Is living in the U.S. better than living in Canada?

I'm Canadian and I work in the healthcare industry. I'm thinking about moving to the U.S., but the thing is that healthcare is free in Canada;whereas, in the U.S. you have to pay for it. In general, for someone like me, do you think it's better for me to stay in Canada or move to the U.S.? What is the healthcare system like in the U.S.

Where in Canada are you from? Where in the US do you want to move?
You're better off in Canada. Don't rely on decent health care in the USA.
That is subjective. If you prefer warm sunny weather, you won't like Canada.
Vancouver is doable.
Yeah, just live in Vancouver, then you're close to the most beautiful states in the US: Washington, Oregon, and California.
No sun in Vancouver and the people are boring
I'm a Canadian living in LA for 15 years. My job provides insurance through Cedars Sinai, and it's way better than any care I received in Canada. I can see the doctor when I want and there is no lengthy waiting time to see a specialist or receive treatment. If you don't have insurance you can go to an ER and you will not be turned away. And you'll probably get just as good treatment as you would in Canada, of course depending on what city you're in.
If a Canadian has sworn their allegiance to the Queen, it would be easier to stay within the Commonwealth.
We have enough foreigners in America. We don't need anymore.
I could never live in Canada, but you're from there, so you probably like the type of people there. I see no reason you would have to move here.
[quote] If you don't have insurance you can go to an ER and you will not be turned away. That may be true, but you will be hounded for payment for a very long time. You can also be sued. And it will go on your credit report for the next seven years that you didn't pay your hospital bill. Your credit cards will be rescinded and you will not be able to get a loan or a mortgage for the next seven years. And years later when you can finally get a loan or a credit card you will pay sky high percentage rate and fees. And most employers (6 out of 10) check people's credit histories before hiring them. They don't hire with bad credit who didn't pay their bills going to the hospital with out insurance is almost like committing financial suicide.
[quote]I'm a Canadian living in LA for 15 years. My job provides insurance through Cedars Sinai, and it's way better than any care I received in Canada. I've never met a Canadian in real life who prefers the American healthcare system to the Canadian system, and living in Michigan, I come across quite a few Canadians. [quote]If you don't have insurance you can go to an ER and you will not be turned away. And you'll probably get just as good treatment as you would in Canada, of course depending on what city you're in. And this is how I know that you're just trolling.
Extraordinarily Stupid Thinking
Most people are probably better off in Canada, and I have always enjoyed time that I have spent there except in the province of Quebec. Everybody there seems to have some sort of big chip on the shoulder, and be rude and uncouth toward English speakers. But you come across the same thing with various ethnic groups in the USA, although it is easier to just avoid them and let them live in their lifelong self-pity and victimhood. I have often wanted to move to Nova Scotia for the summers, while coming back to Texas for the winters. It is just so expensive. The food even seems to taste better and be more wholesome up there.
Are you kidding me, OP? Canada is most likely a better place to live than the US unless you are very wealthy.
When people here in the US get tire or fed up with life and they want to proclaim they are leaving America, they usually say: "I'm moving to Canada" Its sort of like America, except better.
And here's where understanding how things work actually matters. Healthcare in Canada isn't "free" any more than it is here. It's just paid for differently. In the US, you pay directly for it as you need it (or by buying insurance); in Canada and other single-payer nations, it's paid for in higher taxes whether you need it or not. Choose your poison.
Well R17 I would rather know its always there. In America, if you change jobs, you have to change insurance. Some are good, many are not. Loose your job? No coverage and half assed Cobra insurance that only last 6 months. At least I Canada they dont have insurance companies always trying to increase profits by denying coverage. The Death Paneles that everyone was afraid Obama would bring are already here. The are called your private insurance company.
I have folks in different parts of Canada. The health care is great up there. No need to move. We don't really have an alternative to the private system here for the middle class who are working,though some states like New York have something for the working middle class. Obamacare will still be a private system which was created by Mitt Romney and the Heritage Foundation. R17 We pay more per capita for Medicare and Medicaid than any other country who has single Payer or a National Health Service. So we pay for it through our taxes as well and the middle class is shout out. R18 Here,here! Healthcare is a commodity in the US. Also there are people I know that don't even have healthcare! No some youngings but some irresponsible and incredibly stupid elder gays.If they get sick in the US without insurance,they're fucked.
I have a friend who has serious mental health problems, and has been able to access world class mental healthcare in Canada that would have been impossible for her to access in the U.S. without her being very rich (which she is not). She has had access to amazing treatment (psychiatrist and psychologist) and the meds she needs, and is now doing much better. If she'd have lived in the U.S., she'd probably have been dead.
I wish you Americans could have the healthcare Canada has. Someone should start a movement or party to fight for that.
[quote](H)ealthcare is free in Canada;whereas, in the U.S. you have to pay for it. If you're that stupid, please stay in Canada.
[quote]Healthcare in Canada isn't "free" any more than it is here. It's just paid for differently. In the US, you pay directly for it as you need it (or by buying insurance); in Canada and other single-payer nations, it's paid for in higher taxes whether you need it or not. Choose your poison. It may not be free, but in Canada, it costs half of what it does in the US and the quality of care is better.
It's free in Canada - stop trying to fudge the basic truth.
It is for-profit for some in the US, and a total ripoff for all.
I have lived in both Canada and the United States. The Canadian health care system is far superior for many reasons. The U.S. system is a bureaucratic nightmare, which is ironic for a country that prides itself on its lean, mean capitalist economy. Another irony: Although approximately 50 million Americans don't have health insurance, the country spends about $700 billion a year on unnecessary medical care: overdiagnosis, overprescription, and overtreatment. A friend of mine who works for a rich U.S. corporation has "gold-plated" health coverage. He's in and out of the doctor's office constantly.
I saw the most beautiful boys/men working in a supermarket in Quebec. It was like I landed on an island of hot guys. The winter is tough though but just may be worth it.
" in Canada and other single-payer nations, it's paid for in higher taxes whether you need it or not" At least, even if this is partially true, Canadians, and Europeans, with universal healthcare actually have their tax dollars work FOR them! I pay a lot in taxes, yet, I have never gotten back any of it. I don't drive, so I don't use the highways, I never had children, never used the pubic school system. You get my point. It would be nice if some day taxes were restructured in the US according to services we actually use, but that sure isn't going to happen. What's hilarious is the GOP freaks calling Obama a Socialist, well, we've had many programs, which can be deemed of socialist, going on for years, they're called Medicare and Medicaid. The problem is every US citizen should be part of this 'free', or very low cost, healthcare equation, but we are not. A friend was on Medicaid for three years, he called it the "gold standard" of healthcare, many doctors now accept Medicaid, so it's not as if you get clinic level healthcare while on Medicaid. My friend said there was no red tape, no denying procedures, he had small co-pays for doctor visits and diagnostic tests, he didn't pay premiums for the insurance. Most importantly, thanks to having Medicaid during that time, he was diagnosed with cancer and survived! To think we live in a country where having no health insurance can literally bankrupt us OR we could die, is absolutely disgusting. Yet we continue to give billions in foreign aid out year after year.
[quote]At least, even if this is partially true, Canadians, and Europeans, with universal healthcare actually have their tax dollars work FOR them! Excellent point. And if you are low-income and don't pay taxes, you still get free health care when you go to see a doctor.
Yes. Obviously. Next.
[quote]And if you are low-income and don't pay taxes, you still get free health care when you go to see a doctor. Exactly. You get to mooch off other people's hard-earned Canadian dollars!
The same thing happens in the US with people who are on Medicaid or are uninsured and go to the Emergency Room and are unable to pay. The difference is that we pay twice as much for lower quality healthcare in the US.
R20. I met a Canadian psychiatrist who told me the same thing. He said he would be unable to provide the level of care in the USA that he can give his patients in Canada.
Greed rules the USA. And the greed starts with our politicians.
I live in a city that borders with Canada. And I work in the healthcare system here in the States. I'll make just a few points: A critical mass of US provider time is spent processing paperwork for health plans. It increases the cost of delivery substantially. Yes, some wealthy Canadians come here for specialist care, but for the most part, Canadians are happy with their system and utilize the resources available to them within their system at very reasonable out-of-pocket cost. Many Americans go across the border to get their prescriptions filled, or have Canadian doctors to write them prescriptions they can fill those scrips outside of the States. The single-payer system in Canada drives drug costs down considerably - often patients pay 70% less to fill scrips in Canada. On a macro level, last year Canadians surpassed Americans in median income and quality of life. If you're not unhappy with Canadian culture and the life you personally enjoy, I would not move to the States. You have it better where you are.
Single payer has nothing to do with why prescription drugs are cheaper in Canada - Canada's single-payer insurance doesn't cover prescription drugs, employer plans do as in the US. The Canadian government sets a cap on wholesale drug prices which is why they're cheaper. Either way, the Canadian system is better, but let's not confuse things.
The Canadian system is by no means free BUT neither is the US public system. Canada spends less per capita and has healthcare for everybody,.The US public system only covers the poor and the elderly whereas the Canadian system carries everybody.And the only people you hear complaining about the Canadian system are Americans. Propaganda like how many Canadians come here for US healthcare.It's a tiny number compared to Americans that go to Mexico for cheaper procedures AND get their drug prescriptions from Canada.
If you have a valuable skill and are looking for a chance to maximize your career potential, you'll probably do better in the USA. Just because there are more people, more investors/customers and a greater chance to thrive. Look at Peter Jennings compared to Peter Mansbridge. Jennings was able to so much more as a journalist because he moved to the USA. Mansbridge has done well for himself but he certainly hasn't had the career Jennings had because he stayed in Canada.
Dual US-Canadian ciizen here. In the US, you make more money and pay less in taxes, but health insurance will eat up a lot of that. Actual care is the same, I've never encountered hug differences in care. Medication is MUCH cheaper in Canada and Canadian doctors don't push meds like American docs do.
[quote]in Canada and other single-payer nations, it's paid for in higher taxes whether you need it or not. Oh, there's no question you need health care. No one has perfect health their whole lives. Even young people who are not sick should get immunizations and regular medical and dental check-ups.
[quote]I pay a lot in taxes, yet, I have never gotten back any of it. I don't drive, so I don't use the highways, I never had children, never used the pubic school system. You get my point. I do. And it's up there with some of the more ignorant perspectives one encounters on Datalounge. I'm very sympathetic since I don't have kids either, but I've also traveled extensively to countries without decent infrastructure, education, police/fire/hospitals, social care, etc. You probably don't see what your taxes do because you take it all for granted. A quick trip outside the developed world will open your eyes.
R41 It sounds like you have traveled to parts of the US! For a Western country, the US has pockets of which that are still very poor and undeveloped. Bill Maher showed some toothless fuck down South saying he didn't want anything from the government. Meanwhile they were taking advantage of the government as well. Compared to Canada, the US government does a terrible job of distributing those taxes back to the public in the form of services.
I detest shitstain people like you with your entitled television worldview, R42.
And let me expand on that. Yes, Canada does many things very well. So does the US, so does most of the developed world. And yet, every country (except maybe little play countries like Monaco) has pockets of extreme poverty. We can and should do better. But that doesn't excuse people like R42 who are so shrewish and entitled they MUST point out only the flaws of the US from their comfortable little chair in their rich country, well-fed and safe in cities with reliable power, clean water, taking potshots at their stable government that would have them imprisoned or worse in vast numbers of other places around the globe. The entire population of Canada is about the size of metropolitan New York, but they have more natural resources than just about any other country on earth, and enjoy stable mutual protections, trading agreements and markets of the largest economy on Earth. It'd be shocking if they couldn't do well with those advantages.
R43 You darling are a vulgarian! The refuge of an ignorant queen is a witless and vulgar retort. I have folks in Canada and it is wonderful. Toronto is like New York but without the extreme poverty there and it is extremely clean unlike New York. Quebec has snow in the winter time and unlike that Dec 26 fiasco where parts of NYC were not even snow blown for far more than a week everything is taken care of immediately.I have actually been to places around the world other than North America and trust me there are parts of America that could learn a lesson from the rest of the world on a civilized level like gay rights. R44 Have you ever been to Mississippi, I have. Have you been to open gun carry states like Arizona?I have. Have you been to San Francisco?I have and the homeless there are alarming.Have you been to Buffalo? Toronto is relatively close and see how vibrant and modern is and how downtrodden Buffalo is.BTW Canada has the same gun ownership rate of America per capita and has nowhere near the deaths per capita as the US. Metropolitan New York has 34 million people like Canada does....no it doesn't!It more like 18.5 million if you include Pike County in PA. The state of California has 34 million people and it's a mess. We can learn a lot from our northern neighbor in good government,gay rights/marriage equality,social cohesion and healthcare.
I am R7, and so many of you don't know what you're talking about. Canada's health care system works because citizens pay very little to access health care. But there can be an enormous waiting time to diagnose and treat ailments. There are many problems with it, but it is universal health care and that's why it's so wonderful. However, if you have healthcare in Los Angeles for example, the treatment is far superior. There is very little waiting, and you can be seen by very accomplished physicians. My mother entered the hospital in Victoria a month ago with a heart ailment. After diagnosis, she was given meds, a referral, and discharged 4 hours later. That is common is Canada, and definitely not common here. Even if you did not have insurance you can go to an ER, and as someone pointed out, yes you will be asked to pay, but you will not be refused aid. And one responder is completely wrong: Unpaid county hospital medical bills do not become part of your credit report. I love Canada, it's becoming one of the best places in the world to live. But I do know two things about the country. The first is that the universality of the healthcare system is what makes it such a winner, not it's medical service. And two, it can be quite boring. :)
R7
Canada is better unless you are very rich. And when you retire in America, you are fucked. You'll be eating catfood and sharing a tiny apartment in the ghetto in order to keep a roof over your head.
Taxation in Canada is ridiculously high. I lose close to 40% of my paycheque in federal and provincial deductions. Canada is in the midst of a massive real estate bubble. We have the second most overvalued market in the world. House overvaluation is even higher than it was in the US when they had their sub-prime meltdown. Infrastructure in Canada is HORRIBLE. In particular, Canadian roads are terribly potholed and poorly designed. Crossing the border into the Interstate system is like a dream come true. There is a lot of racial tension in Canada despite the image of multiculturalism. Our aboriginal population is especially alienated and growing more militant by the year. If I could get a similar version of my job in the U.S. I would immigrate in a heartbeat.
Western Canadian
blah blah blah. The roads should have been graded to provide better runoff, but otherwise they are adequate to the purpose and generally thicker and less potholed than the American versions. R48 is probably the guy in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DTCoiSAA8zRg
R49 is the stereotypically superior Canadian. They're a loathsome caricature here in Canada (typically found in the Greater Toronto area). Our country has a lot of its own problems and the smugness is an overcompensation.
R48
The truth. Canada's cities are more dense and sustainable. Sure if you hate people and love open roads (and don't have to pay for them) then you might love the American way.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/132
R48 = typical western rube blaming everything wrong in his life on Toronto, or Quebec, depending won which is getting more press at the time.
I agree, R52, "Western Canadians" are clueless about life in Canada, and the world. Just ignore whatever they say.