There is a huge Caviat in your scenario. A lot of people won't come in because they can't afford it, or they won't get the test because they can't afford it. Your wife can order the imaging test, but she doesn't have to deal with the debt, and/or months of arguing on the phone with administrators that her patient sees.
I live in Canada where I am enrolled in the provincial health plan. If a doctor recommends a test or treatment I get it. Cost isn't a consideration. My age isn't a consideration. Please don't spread lies about how universal healthcare works. Unlike insurance in the US, if the doctor orders it, it is covered by the healthcare system here.
Truth: I may have to wait based on a triage system.
If the doctor doesn't recommend a test as necessary or I don't want to wait for my place in line, I can go to a medical clinic that offers these tests privately and pay/have my employer provided secondary coverage pay.
In that way it turns out that we don't have to make the tradeoff.
I've had the best insurance I could buy in the US, and now I have the standard health care that every person in my Canadian province gets. My experience, which is backed up by studies, is that I am healthier, and the population in general is healthier under the Canadian system.
I live in Canada where I am enrolled in the provincial health plan. If a doctor recommends a test or treatment I get it. Cost isn't a consideration. My age isn't a consideration. Please don't spread lies about how universal healthcare works. Unlike insurance in the US, if the doctor orders it, it is covered by the healthcare system here.
Truth: I may have to wait based on a triage system.
If the doctor doesn't recommend a test as necessary or I don't want to wait for my place in line, I can go to a medical clinic that offers these tests privately and pay/have my employer provided secondary coverage pay.
In that way it turns out that we don't have to make the tradeoff.
I've had the best insurance I could buy in the US, and now I have the standard health care that every person in my Canadian province gets. My experience, which is backed up by studies, is that I am healthier, and the population in general is healthier under the Canadian system.