Is socialized medicine better?

Who's Really 'Sicko': In Canada, dogs can get a hip replacement in under a week. Humans can wait two to three years.

Excerpts:

Lindsay McCreith, would have had to wait for four months just to get an MRI, and then months more to see a neurologist for his malignant brain tumor.
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In Britain, the Department of Health recently acknowledged that one in eight patients wait more than a year for surgery.
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France's system failed so spectacularly in the summer heat of 2003 that 13,000 people died, largely of dehydration.
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... government-run health systems have turned out to be less than utopian. The stories are the same: dirty hospitals, poor standards and difficulty accessing modern drugs and tests.

Comment: I had to wait just a week to get an MRI on my back!