It gets interesting at the level of nonessential care and procedures.

I too am a Canadian citizen. If I suffer a serious trauma like a gunshot wound or severely broken bone or severed appendage, I'm well taken care of on taxpayers' money. But it's not so nice for illnesses like Cancer or for less-than-urgent needs like eye care and dental care. There, I could be on a waiting list for an MRI or CAT scan for months or years, or left to pay mostly out-of-pocket for things like eyeglasses and dental surgery.

Case in point, in the Canadian system, if you don't have private insurance to cover dental care and you have gum disease, you're left to pay tens of thousands of dollars to keep your teeth from falling out of your head. If you need vision correction for poor eyesight, too bad, if you don't have private insurance for that, you're paying out of pocket for glasses/contacts/LASIK just like any American schlub. I say case in point because that's all me.