If the patient is referred by a Canadian hospital, the provincial health plan here pays the bill. If the patient goes directly to a US hospital without a referral, they pay out of pocket.
So given that this seems to be happening fairly frequently with certain conditions that require specialized equipment and units, aren’t the Canadian people asking their government why the money that magically becomes available to pay full sticker price for these cross-border transfers, isn’t being spent to beef up the Canadian facilities? Births seem to be a big part of this phenomenon, unless that’s just reporting bias because it makes a catchier news story than some fat old geezer being brought over for an emergency bypass. I’ve even read reports of mothers having normal, uncomplicated, singleton births being sent over the border for lack of space is regular obstetric units in Canada.