In Canada, waiting lists for medical services, whether MRI diagnostics or heart surgery, have become the norm. It has developed and grown worse over many years, so much so that most citizens do not even think of questioning the existence of such waiting lists.
All controversy concerns, not their existence, but merely how long those lists are and whether anyone is "unfairly" jumping the queue. As mentioned in Fear of Private Medicine, a simple MRI disagnostic can require a waiting time of 13 months in Ontario at present.
Jumping the queue is immediately associated in the minds of many Canadians with private medicine - the free market, and the reaction of most is horror that anyone would suggest allowing any part of that evil "American-style" health care system into Canada. What they are really concerned about, of course, is that someone would be allowed to use their hard-earned money to buy better health care.
Such "concern" is nothing more than envy and the desire to cut down anyone who would do better than themselves. This envy is becoming pervasive in every aspect of life, for example the hatred of Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, and many others purely as a result of their success (what Ayn Rand referred to as hatred of the good for being the good), but it seems to draw special focus on the medical system here (and is increasingly evident now in the U.S.).
The very existence of waiting lists is what needs to be re-established as the issue. They need not and should not exist. The only reason there is still any choice at all is because the U.S.A. is our neighbour - if I were to need an MRI, instead of waiting many months to get one here, I would very happily drive across the border where that evil "American-style" system will happly provide me that MRI and anything else I need on demand and at a price I'm more than happy to pay.
But I shouldn't have to drive to the States, I should be able to drive into my local town, or at worst, the closest city, pay my money and get my test with nothing more than perhaps first making an appointment over the phone with whichever private testing facility is able to fit me in the earliest or at a time most convenient to me.
