"todd" wrote in message
First, the Canadian system is not by any means larger than the private
insurance system in the US. Approximately 2/3 of US citizens have private
health insurance, which works out to about 200 million people. Last I
checked, Canada's population is about 33 million.

My mistake, I thought the US system was comprised of a bunch of independent
insurance companies.

In 2004, there were 47 million people on Medicaid. If $900/person/year
covered the costs, Medicaid would have cost $42 billion.

The $900 I stated is the Ontario maximum. For most people, the premiums paid
are quite a bit cheaper.