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In Vancouver there are GPs with private practices as you would expect in any city.



I didn't realize that - I must have confused Canada with another country - Britain? - that outlaws private medical care.

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In addition, there are a number of privately owned (by doctors) walk-in clinics. If you have a problem, any problem, you simply show up and wait until a doctor is free.



Alas these apparently don't exist in most of the US. The problem is that hospital are required to treat patients regardless of (non)payment. The difference from Canada is that in the US neither the hospital or clinic are paid for this.

(foreigners: much or the current US mess can be better understood by remembering that there *is* free care for the poor in the US, but the government only pays a small part of it, and never the full cost, and none for hospital visits)

Since a clinic will not be paid by anyone for providing care, and the hospital is free, there's no way to charge patients and no way for a clinic to stay open.
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