Its difficult to separate the national mythology in Canada from what is true. The most recent poll I saw said that something like 94% of Canadians are generally happy with Canadian Medicare. Most Canadians do not want an American system. But in the same way that Fox News scares Americans about problems in the Canadian medical system usually by taking single isolated instances and implying that that represents a broad problem, the Canadian media does the same thing with the American system.
There is also a different mentality in Canada. Canada tends to think more collectively than the US. Canadians tend to think not just what is best for me, but what is best and fair for everyone. You see that much less in the US. Americans think "Why should I support someone who is less healthy than me." But Canadians do think "what's best for me" envisioning what could happen if they lost their job and could not afford to pay for medical services. Canadians see their own self-interest in Medicare. Canadians think "What would happen to me if I had all sorts of health problems." I don't think the US will ever have a single-payer nationalized universal healthcare system for that reason. Americans think differently.
As a Canadian who has lived in the US for some time, my own conclusion is that I'd rather be in the US healthcare system. But that's because I do fairly well for myself and have a good healthplan. If I were poor, I'd rather be in Canada.
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