For the first 27 years of my life, I grew up in Canada. In present day terms and news events, the land of ‘Universal Healthcare’. I think I know a little bit about HC in Canada and can speak to it from experience. As a child and teenager, I remember when I had doctor appointments I showed up, had somewhat long waiting times in a doc’s office, got checked out, and left with my diagnosis. At that time, I never really thought about our system in Canada. To me it seemed like the greatest system in the world. I mean heck, your go to the doctor’s and do not have to pay for a thing? SWEET!
Once I finished college/university I realized that the HC system in Canada wasn’t really as “free” as I had thought. You see in Canada taxes are pretty high; approximately 52%. So you can expect about 48% of you paycheck at the end of the day. However, it doesn’t stop there. In Ontario where I grew up, taxes were 7% Federal GST (Goods & Services Tax) and 8% PST (Provincial Sales Tax). In 1991, the GST was levied to the population as tax that was going to reduced the country’s deficit.