How are the British and French better?

So, why did the WHO rank UK and France higher than us? They both have similarly universal healthcare plans as we do in Canada, and France even spends an equal amount of their yearly budget on healthcare. Here are some key differences then:

In the British system

• Prescription drug coverage is not standard in Canadian system whereas it is in the British.

• Their National Health Service has introduced incentives based funding to improve efficiency, this is lacking in Canada, which has lead to high wait times and no actions to change these inefficiencies.

• Patients have freedom in accessing specialized care faster through private insurance, which is against the law in Canada.

In the French system

• In contrast to both Canadian and British systems, there are no waiting lists for elective procedures in the French system and no pre-authorization is required.

• A referral is not need to see a specialist under the French system.

• Patients get covered for about 70% of healthcare costs by the state and can be covered up to a 100% by utilizing top-up private insurance under the French System.

• There is even a coverage plan for illegal immigrants under the French system.