Fact Sheet:

If your chances of surviving cancer are better in the US than Canada.

A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that 50 people died while on a wait list for cardiac catheterization in Ontario.

According to Canada's Fraser Institute, queue jumping by the famous and politically-connected is common in Canada.

A study conducted by U.S. Commerce Department found that drug price controls in other nations reduced annual investment in pharmaceuticals by $5-8 billion, resulting in 3 to 4 fewer drugs being launched each year. The Boston Consulting Group found (PDF) an even bigger effect of price controls, showing a loss of $17-22 billion annually in pharmaceutical research resulting in the loss of 10 to 13 new drug launches.

Breast cancer mortality is 9 percent higher, prostate cancer is 184 percent higher and colon cancer mortality among men is about 10 percent higher than in the United States.

Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.

Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians.

Lower income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians.  

Americans spend less time waiting for care than patients in Canada. Canadian patients wait about twice as long to see a specialist, to have elective surgery like hip replacements or to get radiation treatment for cancer

People in countries with more government control of health care than America are highly dissatisfied and believe reform is needed.  

Americans are more satisfied with the care they receive than Canadians. 

Americans have much better access to important new technologies like medical imaging than patients in Canada. In 2004, the US had 19.5 MRI scanner per million while Canada had 4.6. The U.S had 29.5 CT scanners per million while Canada had 10.3 CT scanners.

American woman partake in more preventive care such as mammograms and PAP smears than Canadians.

American men are nearly three times more likely to have had prostrate screening than Canadian men.

Americans are responsible for the vast majority of all health care innovations.

A study finds that attested wait times for specialist appointments much lower in US.

Studies find that waiting room waits are longer in Canada.

A study finds lower cancer survival rates among Canadians than among Americans.

Median waiting times for orthopedic consultation are twice as long in Canada.

Median waiting times once orthopedic surgery had been scheduled were 5 weeks longer in Canada.

The median pre-surgery wait time in Canada for a knee replacement is 112-291 days.

The median wait time to see a special physician in Canada is a little over four weeks compared with average the US average of 20.5 days.

Percentage of Canadian patients waiting for elective surgery more than 4 months in 2001 was 27% compared to 5% in the US.

Rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are higher in Canada than in the US, where there are 5.2 cases per 1,000 hospital admissions compared with 3.95.

Lists:

10 Surprising Facts about American Health Care

1. Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers

2. Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians

3. Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.

4. Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians

5. Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians

6. Lower income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians

7. People in countries with more government control of health care are highly dissatisfied and believe reform is needed.  

8. Americans spend less time waiting for care than patients in Canada and the U.K.  

9. Americans have much better access to important new technologies like medical imaging than patients in Canada or the U.K. 

10. Americans are responsible for the vast majority of all health care innovations
    

18 Reasons why the US shouldn’t adopt a Canadian System:

1. There isn't a single government agency or division that runs efficiently; do we really want an organization that developed the U.S. Tax Code handling something as complex as health care?

2. "Free" health care isn't really free since we must pay for it with taxes; expenses for health care would have to be paid for with higher taxes or spending cuts in other areas such as defense, education, etc.

3. Profit motives, competition, and individual ingenuity have always led to greater cost control and effectiveness.

4. Government-controlled health care would lead to a decrease in patient flexibility.

5. The health-care industry likely will become infused with the same kind of corruption, back-room dealing, and special-interest-dominated sleeze that is already prevalent in other areas of government.

6. Patients aren't likely to curb their drug costs and doctor visits if health care is free; thus, total costs will be several times what they are now.

7. Just because Americans are uninsured doesn't mean they can't receive health care; nonprofits and government-run hospitals provide services to those who don't have insurance, and it is illegal to refuse emergency medical service because of a lack of insurance.

8. Government-mandated procedures will likely reduce doctor flexibility and lead to poor patient care.

9. Healthy people who take care of themselves will have to pay for the burden of those who smoke, are obese, etc.

10. In an effort to cut costs, price & salary controls on drugs, medical equipment, and medical services are likely to be put in place, meaning there is less incentive to pursue medical-related research, development, and investment, nor pursue medical careers in general.

11. A long, painful transition will have to take place involving lost insurance industry jobs, business closures, and new patient record creation.

12. Loss of private practice options and possible reduced pay may dissuade many would-be doctors from pursuing the profession.

13. Malpractice lawsuit costs, which are already sky-high, could further explode since universal care may expose the government to legal liability, and the possibility to sue someone with deep pockets usually invites more lawsuits.

14. Government is more likely to pass additional restrictions or increase taxes on smoking, fast food, etc., leading to a further loss of personal freedoms.

15. Patient confidentiality is likely to be compromised since centralized health information will likely be maintained by the government.

16. Health care equipment, drugs, and services may end up being rationed by the government. In other words, politics, lifestyle of patients, and philosophical differences of those in power, could determine who gets what.

17. Patients may be subjected to extremely long waits for treatment.

18. Like social security, any government benefit eventually is taken as a "right" by the public, meaning that it's politically near impossible to remove or curtail it later on when costs get out of control.
     

5 things Karl Rove says are wrong with socialized Medicare:

1. Its not necessary

2. It will undercut private insurers and pass the tab to taxpayers and health providers just as it does in existing government-run programs.

3. Government-run health insurance would crater the private insurance market, forcing most Americans onto the government plan

4. Its Far too Expensive

5. It puts government firmly in the middle of the relationship between patients and their doctors.
    

Five Arguments Against Government Health Care:

1. Against Federalism

2. The misery of Gov’t Run Institutions

3. Bad Incentives

4. Doesn’t fix the malpractice problem

5. Privately funded services are going down in price
    

10 Myths of Single-Payer Health Care

1. Everyone has access to health care a single-payer system.

2. Claims of rationing are exaggerated.

3. A single-payer system would save money on administrative costs.

4. Single-payer will provide fair and quality care for everyone.

5. Single-payer leaves medical decisions to patients & doctors.

6. Single-payer systems achieve better health outcomes.

7. The U.S. systems also engages in rationing.

8. A single-payer system will not hamper medical research.

9. Single-payer will save money as patients seek care earlier.

10. The free market in health care has failed in the U.S.

Videos:

Capturing the Moral High Ground, Why Only Private Health Care is Moral by Yaron Brook, Part One

Capturing the Moral High Ground, Part two:

Capturing the Moral High Ground, Part three:

Shona Holmes Interview on Fox News - How Canadian Healthcare almost Killed Her

McCain Agrees With Sarah Palin On "Death Panel" Myth

A True Tale of Canadian Health Care: Why some patients need to go to the U.S. for surgery