[MTRedskinsFan]

12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me, but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn unless I am a hockey player or athlete, then I can get looked at right away. Go figure. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself, but are not allowed to spend money to get healthy.

Sorry to break it to you but your friend is lying through his nicotene plated teeth. My family did business in Canada for over twenty years during which health care was a regular topic. Nobody in Canada is forced to use the government system, that's total bullshit. There's a private system and a public one. Lots of people use some form of private health insurance for family care, and let the government pay for major operations.

As a grad student I studied health care among all the industrialized nations.
1. We spend almost twice per capita as the OECD average
2. Infant mortality rate is higher here than in all other fully industrialized countries
3. Longevity among Americans is lower than average
4. Medical error and death due to medical error is literally off the charts in America compared w/ other industrialized nations.
5. Appx 22,000 Americans die every year because they are refused treatment for not carrying health insurance