...and why combined tax rates for the middle class are around 50%.
As someone who's lived in the Canadian health care system and the US system - it is absolutely lower quality than what average private employer healthcare plan provides in the US.
Even before covid, Quebec's healthcare system was in crisis with packed ERs having dozens of neglected patients on beds in the hallways for weeks... GP access is impossible with waiting lists 3 years long. ...and the nursing shortage was bad before - now because covid caused the government to order nurses to do forced overtime.
Americans have rose-colored glasses when they think about the quality of care in Canada. The truth is that Canadian healthcare is better for people that cannot afford healthcare. ...and American healthcare is far better for the average person that is employed with those benefits.
It's a simple tradeoff. Significantly higher taxes + healthcare for the poor (Canada) vs better healthcare for the average middle-class employed person (US).
The US already spends more than double what Canada spends per capita. If we had the cost efficiency of Canada's health care system, we could by double the health care without spending more than we already do.
The US spends more because our care is higher quality. If you want to see a specialist for instance, the top of their fields will be here because they can charge what they’re worth.
Saskatchewan decided they wanted single payer health care so they did it. About a decade later the federal gov made it national.