Health reform in Canada

Health systems in Canada and Europe have come under intense scrutiny over the past year as the United States has debated healthcare reform. The Canadian health system has been caricatured by a small but influential minority as a costly socialist endeavour that limits patient choice and ultimately fails to provide timely access to effective health care. Typical of this discourse, Sarah Palin, former Vice-Presidential candidate who had described the public health insurance option proposed by the democrats as "evil", recommended that Canada dismantle its public health care system in favor of private health care (1).