I paid cash for a time for my medical care, and GP visits for regular illness or annual physical generally were $70 to $80.

I wonder how salaries for nurses and doctors compare in the US vs Canada. Do you happen to have any data on that (or know of a good government source for it in Canada)?

I know that compared to much of first world Europe, our nurses and doctors often make two to four times as much as their counter parts there. Wonder if that's true compared to Canada as well.

In my province of BC, all payments from the Medical Service Plan (MSP is our public insurance system which costs Canadians a maximum of $65/mo or as little as $0 for low income individuals) publishes all annual payments to physicians:

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/legislation/pdf/bluebook2012...

The average for Family Doctors is around $240,000 CAD and for specialists is about $430,000.

Average registered nurse salary in BC is about $61,000 CAD.

If you take away the need to pay back six-figure student loans and tens of thousands each year for malpractice insurance - then much more of that money stays in the doctors pocket.

Doctors in Europe live quite well, and don't have as ridiculous workhours as the numerous USA examples listed, or the suicide problem.

Tuition at UBC med is $16,000 per year and many students qualify for up to $100,000 in bursaries. After 4 years of academics there is a paid residency. It's not a huge salary (~$50k) but enough to avoid going into debt.

What is the malpractice liability exposure for a Canadian doctor? In the US, malpractice insurance is a huge expense for most doctors, and for some specialties (e.g. obstetrics) it's very close to prohibitive.

Canadian doctors are protected taxpayer subsidized insurance called CMPA. Typical cost is 1/10th of what it costs in US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Medical_Protective_Ass...