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Health care only counts if it is available

From time to time, some Americans trumpet the supposedly grand virtues of Canada's socialized health care system, which allegedly offers health nirvana by providing universal provision of medical care. It does offer universal coverage. Just don't get sick unless you can wait a long time for treatment.

As the National Center for Policy Analysis reports, long waits for diagnostic and specialist services reflect the unspoken rationing that takes place when the government can't really afford to provide unlimited health care to everyone.

In 1998, an estimated 212,000 Canadians -- nearly 10 percent of the population -- were on waiting lists for surgical procedures, a 13 percent increase over estimated wait times in 1997. Patients waited an average of six weeks after referral by a general practitioner for a consultation with a specialist and another 7.3 weeks after the consultation to receive treatment. That's more than three months in total, a bit of a raw deal if you happen to have a particularly aggressive cancer or cranky arteries about to close down.

Waiting times continue to increase for all diagnostic services and specialty services. The gap between the amount of time specialists consider to be clinically safe and the actual waiting time for services was greatest for elective cardiovascular surgery, for which the average wait was 8.1 weeks longer than doctors consider prudent.

That's why American hospitals in border cities like Seattle, Detroit and Buffalo do a big business serving those Canadians who can afford to escape the gentle clutches of socialized medicine.