Everything is rationed here: family doctors, specialists, mental health, diagnostics, surgery. Most Canadians can’t afford to go south of the border but the truly wealthy, many politicians, professional athletes, etc can escape the lengthy wait lines by going to the U.S. It can take years to obtain a family doctor if you move to a new city, which means hours waiting in an emergency room for a 5 minute diagnosis. The ORs never work past 4 pm or on the weekends because surgery time is rationed. Many surgeons would like to perform more operations but the government won’t fund the nurses and anesthesiologists after hours.
It seems to be about the principle of having a Big Nanny rather than of maximizing the reach and capabilities of health care within the context only of what God is willing to grant.