What Exactly Are You Expecting...

Well, probably the best measurement of healthcare cost is percentage of gdp. Canada spends 10.1 of its gdp on healthcare. The U.S. spends 16.0.

While physician/surgeon fees might account for some of the difference, it's generally the private insurance industry that scoops away most of the extra money spent by Americans.

Canada, as a nation, decided that medical care is a fundamental right for every citizen regardless of personal wealth, income or status. Theoretically, no one life is more valuable than any other. Virtually every medical treatment, no matter how extensive, is available to everyone free of charge with only a few exceptions (usually elective procedures - nose jobs, in-vetro fertilization as examples).

Canada's wealthiest choose not to stand in line of course and will simply go south where they can afford to purchase preferential treatment ahead of others. But for the poor, working class and middle class (nearly everybody) it works pretty well. Nobody ever gets hit with a medical bill no matter how serious their illness.