Two myths about the U.S. health care system

In the debate over Canada’s health care system, the United States provides a convenient scarecrow. We hear constantly that 45 million Americans have no health insurance, that public health care spending is inadequate and that the U.S. system is characterized by unbridled capitalism. These perceptions, however, fall into the category of urban myth. It is true that the U.S. health care system suffers from a number of problems and is far from perfect, but the causes of these problems are not what most people believe.