Canada a model for health care? Umm...no. Not my health care...

Wait Times

42% of Canadians waited 2 hours or more in the emergency room, vs. 29% in the U.S
57% waited 4 weeks or more to see a specialist, vs. 23% in the U.S.
21% of Canadian hospital administrators, but less than 1% of American administrators, said that it would take over three weeks to do a biopsy for possible breast cancer on a 50-year-old woman
50% of Canadian administrators versus none of their American counterparts said that it would take over six months for a 65-year-old to undergo a routine hip replacement surgery

Technology

Canada has 4.6 MRI scanners per million, the U.S. has 19.5 per million.
Canada has 10.3 CT scanners per million, the U.S. has 29.5 per million.

Heart Attacks

Canadians have a 17% higher risk of dying from heart attacks than U.S. patients.
The five-year mortality rate is 21.4% among Canadians and 19.6% for the U.S.
30% of American heart attack patients receive an angioplasty, versus 11% of Canadians
More than 13% of Americans had bypass surgery, compared with 4% in Canada.

Cancer - Mortality/Incidence Ratio (lower is better)

Males C US
Intestinal.............................0.4401..............0.3808
Stomach..............................0.6435..............0.5700
Lung....................................0.8843..............0.8283
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.....0.4497..............0.4189
All cancers...........................0.4722..............0.4321

Females
Intestinal.............................0.4052..............0.3643
Stomach..............................0.7292..............0.6122
Lung...................................0.7884..............0.7403
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma....0.4044..............0.3734
All cancers..........................0.4276..............0.3977

Cost

15.3% of U.S. annual GDP. In Canada, only 10% of GDP
Canada government-spending was $2,120 (in US dollars) per person on health care, while the United States government-spending $2,724.
Canada, $917/yr spent by individuals or private insurance companies for health care compared to $3,372/yr in the U.S.

Summary

While Canada's "cost" might be lower than the US, quality and access (in terms of wait) is clearly on the side of the U.S. So what does that say? Just like most things, you get what you pay for. If you're happy to give up the health insurance that you and your family have for something like Canada's, then call your legislator and support National Healthcare. It'll be one huge step backwards in quality of care. People from other countries come to the US when quality of treatment really counts, not the other way around. As for me, I want the best healthcare I can get for my family. No thanks Mr. President. You can keep your bureaucratic healthcare out of my life.