Sure, you can pay to access the private system, which is a nominal amount compared to what we pay in the US.
The US ranks among the worst of the first world nations in terms of access to and quality of healthcare[0]. Just look at our hospital borne MRSA infection rates.
The idea that the US delivers consistent, quality care across the nation is laughably false.
0: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/among-11-count...
I have no idea if that's actually true, but the widespread opinion is that the ~free (it depends a lot between countries, it's usually simply affordable, rather than free) healthcare here is much better than what a normal person can afford in the US.
This is not true. It's just ignored because people would rather believe that universal healthcare is infallible. We moved from Canada to the US precisely because of healthcare for our children. In Canada, care was non-existant and the private services were expensive. In the US, it was the complete opposite.
I know. These are services that the state was legally supposed to provide but could not. Canada failed my children. It was disgusting.
Autism. The "care" provided in Canada is horrid.
> I imagine given my profession I could get a job with decent benefits,
This is not needed. The services we benefit from our state run, not based on my job.
That doesn't mean what you think it means. There are many things not covered or not covered practically that you would want to pay for private healthcare. e.g. You can wait years for services, or you can pay a few thousand a month and get it sooner. This is critical for things that necessitate early intervention. Wait too long, and when the government does finally come around to being able to provide services, it's already too late, and because the patient is too old, they are no longer eligible for the services they should have received in the first place. I speak from personal experience.
For children with autism it is the norm.
Sorry, but what they did to my children was shameful.
*in some rare cases
Please don't presume to put words in my mouth again.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/patients-liv...