There is no such thing as "Free" health care. Someone, somehow, pays for it.
Pulling from Wikipedia here. Bold notations are mine.
Health care in Canada is delivered through a publicly-funded health care system, which is mostly free at the point of use and has most services provided by private entities.[1] It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act.[2] The government assures the quality of care through federal standards. The government does not participate in day-to-day care or collect any information about an individual's health, which remains confidential between a person and his or her physician. Canada's provincially-based Medicare systems are cost-effective partly because of their administrative simplicity.[citation needed] In each province each doctor handles the insurance claim against the provincial insurer. There is no need for the person who accesses health care to be involved in billing and reclaim. Private insurance is only a minimal part of the overall health care system. Competitive practices such as advertising are kept to a minimum, thus maximizing the percentage of revenues that go directly towards care.[citation needed] In general, costs are paid through funding from income taxes, although three provinces also impose a fixed monthly premium which may be waived or reduced for those on low incomes. There are no deductibles on basic health care and co-pays are extremely low or non-existent (supplemental insurance such as Fair Pharmacare may have deductibles, depending on income).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada
Canadian's like the system. Walk in, show your card, get treatment and leave. It's simple. It's effective, it works, but it's not perfect. Some treatments have long waits, and some non-covered ones are about as expensive as the US. I know at least 2 Canadians who went abroad for dental work rather than have it done at home due to the costs. The article listed goes into great detail on the hows, whats, %'s and so on that make up the meat of the CHS. I recommend reading it before criticizing the Canadian system.
Also read this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Health_Act
The Canada Health Act (CHA) [2] is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer [3]. These criteria require universal coverage (for all "insured persons") for all "medically necessary" hospital and physician services, without co-payments.
The CHA deals only with how the system is financed. Because of the constitutional division of powers among levels of government, adherence to CHA conditions is voluntary. However, the fiscal levers have helped to ensure a relatively consistent level of coverage across the country. Although there are disputes as to the details, the CHA remains highly popular.
The current Canadian system is relatively new, at 27 years old. Canadian's had the Constitutional arguments about if their federal government could/should get involved almost 3 decades ago. The consensus basically was, yes it could with limits. However, their system basically runs off revenues and GIVES every Canadian insurance.
The US version by comparison fines US Citizens if they don't BUY insurance from a private party or otherwise obtain it (ie employers, of government offerings if available and qualified for).
The Canadian system is however not a true National plan, as due to their own Constitutional limitations, the plan is run at the Provincial level, requiring Federal guidelines be met for reimbursement. (simplified for brevity).
The passed US system by comparison violates various clauses of the US Constitution as well as numerous State Constitutions, the later arguments not fully brought up in court.
The Canadian system works, because care and attention was paid to create a voluntary system that was left to the Provinces to implement. Some variation between each exists, however most Canadians as previous stated support the system due in part to it's simplicity on their part in using.
Reference to the folks that go designer on their teeth, gold grills, glue on jems, etc.
