>Most Americans have never experienced a system like that, and will fight tooth and nail against things they don't understand or have experienced. They are told by billionaires who run the media empires that universal healthcare is expensive, will ruin the country, will remove their ability to get appointments scheduled.
My wife, a practicing physician, did fellowships in multiple countries like this.
I asked her for her opinion given her experience with their systems, and our systems, and also being on the provider end.
"excellent emergent care, comparable to better US hospitals"
"horrible waiting periods for elective care, and non-emergent surgeries"
The US also has terrible waiting periods for elective care as well. I've talked to many physicians in the US (wife is MD) and you're booking way out anyways. So...universal healthcare has wait times of 7 months instead of 5 months.
It's just weird how people argue for the US system as if it's superior but it really has the same problems as other countries with even more downsides. If we're supposed to be "good" at elective surgeries we're giving up a lot to be pretty mediocre.
Wife is booking emergent same day, and depending on the case length and type, 1-2 weeks for most cancer cases, up to a month for a complex deep inferior epigastric perforators flap breast reconstruction surgery which is a long surgery if bilateral; getting that much OR time is a challenge. They'll book for saturdays if they need. Cases that can be done in a surgery center are quick; major cases that require a hospital OR, and other physician clearances take longer to coordinate.
The longest backlog (1 year) in the practice is actually a 99% cosmetic plastic surgeon who is an instagram famous Michelangelo of Brazilian Butt Lifts.
I can corroborate the GP's experience of having to book several months in advance for non-emergency care—the fastest medical booking I've had in the past several years is surgery for my cat, which was about three weeks.
My wife, a practicing physician, did fellowships in multiple countries like this.
I asked her for her opinion given her experience with their systems, and our systems, and also being on the provider end.
"excellent emergent care, comparable to better US hospitals"
"horrible waiting periods for elective care, and non-emergent surgeries"