The Toronto Star reports that two patients have had enough of the vaunted Canadian health care system:

Two Ontario patients who had brain tumours removed in the United States because they say they couldn’t get quick treatment here are suing the provincial government over what they claim are unjustly long wait times for medical care.

And, contrary to the claims of the single-payer crowd, such wait times have real costs-beyond the obvious pain and suffering of the patients:

[One plaintiff] paid $27,650 for his consultation, biopsy and surgery in Buffalo and OHIP has refused to reimburse him because he failed to seek pre-approval for the expense, the claim notes.

Moreover, these folks aren’t rich. They have made considerable sacrifices to get access to care. Here’s how the second plaintiff puts it:

We’ve re-mortgaged our home. It has to be known. People can’t go through this … I was very fortunate to save my eyesight but the cost and the battle has been devastating.

So … tell me again: Why the hell would we want to emulate a system that produces such results every day of the week?