Canada's Single-payer Health System

The major players in Washington’s healthcare debate -- businesses, hospitals, doctors, labor unions, insurance companies and the members of Congress – have agreed that a “single-payer” system is “off the table.” That’s infuriated many Americans. Presidential candidate Barack Obama campaigned for “universal healthcare,” calling for unprecedented government intervention while preserving the employer-based insurance system. Obama’s visit to Canada provides the occasion for a debate that’s not happening in Washington on a so-called “single payer” system like those in Europe and Canada.