Canadians love their health care

A response to Lucy Holt’s letter (“Socialism rebuttal,” Dec. 9) is needed.

The Canadian health care system is not socialism. It is a health care system that provides a minimum level of health care to all citizens and in that sense is universal - by the way, the same as our Medicare and VA systems … yes, Lucy, the USA has universal health care.

Sure, their health care is basically no cost at delivery. Canadians know that they pay higher taxes to fund the system, which is statistically more efficient and effective than ours, since they don’t have health care costs inflated by 15-20% due to private insurers.

Furthermore, the statement that Canadian health care workers “work for free” is ludicrous. They are well paid and respected professionals, most with incomes comparable to their colleagues in our HMOs.

How do I know all this? For the past 15 years I spent the winter in my snowbird community, which is 25+% Canadians. I have had health care conversations with hundreds of Canadians. Not a single one of them would give up their system for ours. Many of them laugh at our system as they see their U.S. friends deal with our system.

The only complaint I occasionally hear regards some delayed elective procedures. But, they universally say that emergency/urgent care is immediate and effective … and at no cost.

Thomas Mosher

Spokane