"Queue jumpers. Finally, there are those Canadians who travel to the US for elective care. It is this category that some use to talk about in comparing the two systems. In Canada, it is possible to wait for elective (not emergent) surgery due to a shortage of physicians. (Canada has one of the highest median ages of OECD countries; the US physician shortage is about ten years behind (Research Shows Shortage of More than 100,000 Doctors by 2030).
It is estimated that approximately 5000 people a year come to the US for medical care under this category; out of millions of hospital visits in Canada each year.
This is almost always for faster care rather than better care. If you have an arthritic hip and need a replacement, you can jump the queue and get it done faster in the US. Some do.
This is a case of system arbitrage. In Canada, the medical system is rationed in time; in the US the system is rationed by money. If you have money, you can get to the front of the line.
On the whole, the Canadian system is both cheaper and more effective. Medical outcomes are consistently higher in Canada than in the US, except for cancer care, where the US tends to be among the best in the world."
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