In the course of every debate about Medicare in the United States, someone on the left will eventually bring up Canada. Glorious Canada, where medicine flows freely down panacea rivers and Canadians don’t have to pay a dime for it. 

Only none of that is true. It’s a horrendous healthcare system with horrible wait times, excessive costs via taxes, and you’re forced to pay for everybody’s bad decisions in regard to how they lived their life. Regardless of this being the reality, leftists like Sen. Bernie Sanders will tell you how much better Canada’s healthcare system is as opposed to America where, from the sounds of it, we have people dying in the streets over it.

This is odd, seeing as how in Canada you may be waiting quite a bit for care once it’s proven that you need it. You’re made to wait long periods for treatment as your condition worsens over time.

But in America, you’re far more likely to get that treatment ASAP.

According to the Foundation for Economic Education, a new study by the Fraser Institute shows just how fast America is in getting care to those who need surgeries compared to its Canadian cousin:

Surgeries are scheduled after patients are seen by the surgeon, and most people see surgeons only after a referral by either their primary care physician in America, or their general practitioner in Canada. In the United States, 70 percent of patients are able to be seen by specialists less than four weeks after a referral. In Canada, less than 40 percent were seen inside of four weeks.

After being advised that they need a procedure done, only about 35 percent of Canadians had their surgery within a month, whereas in the United States, 61 percent did. After four months, about 97 percent of Americans were able to have their surgery, whereas Canada struggled to achieve 80 percent.

America is significantly outperforming Canada in surgery wait times even as it’s likely that tens of thousands of Canadians come here to use the American system.

America’s healthcare system isn’t perfect. That much is clear. However, it still beats Canada’s.