Originally Posted by
Endus
It absolutely is "skipping lines". People with better insurance get priority treatment, and thus get taken in ahead of the uninsured, unless we're talking emergency treatment. One of the reasons lines are somewhat longer in countries with socialized health care is that the ER will see you. Even if you have a cold. If you don't have a family doctor, and need a note to get sick leave pay, you have to go to the ER. Because you're totally not in critical need of treatment, you get bumped down every time someone with a more serious issue comes in, because that's how triage works. You might wait 6-8 hours to get that note. It sucks, that's why you should get a family doctor (which isn't hard nor does it cost you a dime; people just don't bother).
If you actually need treatment, you get it. I've gone in for the aforementioned head issue (atypical migraine, FWIW), and was seeing a doctor within 20 minutes. Another time, I'd partially amputated my right index by dropping a 300lb rock on it. I had to wait an hour and a half before I saw the surgeon to get stitched back together, but that was because a three-car pileup came in right after me, and they had people in critical condition, one guy had a sucking chest wound. "People who might die in the next hour if untreated" get priority over a finger, even if I am holding it together in a towel. Because, again, triage. I got pain meds and was happy to wait.
You're only waiting if there's something more serious going on. And Canadian hospitals can't afford to overstaff, because they're on a budget and can't just jack up prices to pay for more staff; they get funding based on the care they need to provide.