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The annual rate

ulation (6.5) as the United States (13.6).26

gram, 25,000 people die unnecessarily in Britain

each year because they are denied the highest

Although critics of the U.S. health care system

of cancer deaths

quality cancer care. Much of the reason appears to

claim that we have too much technology, all the

is 70 percent

be rationing of cancer specialists and treat-

evidence suggests that our counterparts have too

ments.33 For instance, Poland has more radio-

higher in the

little--as a result of the conscious decisions of

government officials. Britain's NHS has also

therapists per capita than Britain. In fact, Britain

United Kingdom

skimped on the newer Magnetic Resonance

has fewer oncologists than any country in

than in the

Western Europe.34 Forty percent of British cancer

Imaging (MRI) scanners that can detect disease

patients never see an oncology specialist.35 There

throughout the body, including aneurysms or

United States.

tears in the aorta, strokes, and tumors. Britain (at

are only a few British hospitals that specialize in

3.9 MRI scanners per million population) has

tumors. In addition, use of chemotherapy in

fewer than half as many as the United States (8.1

Britain is significantly lower than in neighboring

per million). There is strong evidence of a general

countries. Many health authorities ration cancer

underuse of other valuable therapies as well.27

drugs, and some are unwilling to fund certain

drugs. Such practice leads to similar patients

Canada also compares unfavorably with

being treated differently depending on where

the United States in access to high-tech equip-

they reside, resulting in a wide variation in clinical

ment. On a per capita basis, the United States

outcomes.36

has more than three times as many MRI units

as Canada, and almost twice as many CT scan-

ners per capita as Canada.28 Per person, the

Myth No. 3: Countries with

United States has nearly four times as many

National Health Insurance

lithotripsy units--which avoid expensive and

invasive surgery by using sound waves to

Make Health Care Available

destroy kidney stones and gallstones. As of

on the Basis of Need Rather

November 2001, Canada had only three pub-

Than Ability to Pay

lic-sector Positron Emission Tomography

(PET) scanners--and one of those only operat-

ed one evening a week--compared to 250 in

"The United States alone treats health

the United States.29

care as a commodity distributed according to

the ability to pay, rather than as a social ser-

In addition, much of the medical technol-

vice to be distributed according to medical

ogy that is available in Canada is archaic and

need," claims Physicians for Single-Payer

ineffective. In Canadian hospitals, for exam-

National Health Insurance.37 The idea that

ple, 63 percent of all general X-ray equipment

is severely outdated, and half of all diagnostic

national health insurance makes health care

imaging units require replacement.30

available on the basis of need rather than

ability to pay is an article of faith among sup-

Lack of access to technology affects health

porters of socialized medicine.

outcomes. Whereas the Canadian Society of

But is it really true that national health

Surgical Oncology recommends that cancer

insurance systems make care available on the

treatment, including surgery, begin within two

basis of need alone? Precisely because of

weeks after preoperative tests, one study found

rationing, inefficiencies, and quality prob-

that the median waiting time for surgery varied

lems, patients in countries with national

from almost a month (29.0 days) for colorectal

health insurance often spend their own

cancer to more than two months (64.0 days) for

urologic cancers.31 The annual rate of cancer

money on health care when they are given an

opportunity to do so. In fact, private-sector

deaths is 70 percent higher in the United

health care is the fastest-growing part of the

Kingdom than in the United States--275 deaths

health care system in many of these coun-

per 100,000 and 194 deaths per 100,000, respec-

tively.32 According to Karol Sikora, former head of

tries. For example, in Britain, 13 percent of

the population has private health insurance

the World Health Organization's cancer pro-

6