For the record, I think we'll ultimately end up with a single payer system. The costs are spiraling out of control and I don't see that stopping without government price controls which would be implemented the easiest with a single payer system where they can tell the ER that they won't pay $50 for an aspirin, $100 for a needle, $500 for a bag of saline that costs less than $1 to make, etc.
I work with someone who lived in both the UK and Canada. Had an ACL tear playing soccer in the UK. Didn't get to see a doc for weeks, but when she did get in, no MRI was allowed and the diagnosis was a slight knee sprain. Ice it and you'll be fine. Got back to the US months later and the knee hadn't gotten any better. Went to a doctor here and was immediately sent for an MRI. Yep, clearly a tear. I guess her experience was the one exception to the rule?
These reports from Canada also seems to disagree with the experiences of your family.
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/stud...in-canada-2016
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0db570d3778ff