On talk radio and at town halls, North Carolinians against the current health reform proposals site England, Germany and Canada as poor examples of health care.

The concern is that socialized health care will mean a much longer waiting period for care.

"I think the wait is quite a bit shorter than health care reform opponents in the U.S. would like us to believe," said Dr. Richard Semelka, a Professor of Radiology at UNC Health Care.

Dr. Semelka is Canadian and practiced in his home country during the 1980s and early 90s.

"It is my experience we're talking about waiting periods of a week or two, whereas in the U.S., you are talking one or two days at the big institutions," said Dr. Semelka.

He admitted the wait, no matter how long or short,  is a weakness with Canada's Universal Health Coverage. He added, "The great strength is everyone is covered and no one really has to worry about financial ruin if they have a major ailment that afflicts them."

According to Dr. Semelka, another plus in Canada is that patients have full access to all physicians in their province.

But a negative in his view comes down to tools of the trade.

"If you were to compare us (UNC Health Care) to institutions in Canada, institutions four times our size probably would have half the magnetic resonance systems.  We have much more access to equipment," said Dr. Semelka.

So how about the United Kingdom?

UNC Cardiologist Paul Mounsey from England said he wanted to correct a big misconception.

"This idea that people don't get looked after in the UK, and of course people do get looked after, if you go see a doctor, you will get cared for.  That's not to say you won't get at the end of a bit of a waiting list," said Dr. Mounsey.

When he last practiced medicine in the UK in 1996, Dr. Mounsey recalled the wait list was often several months for a coronary bypass operation, as long as the patient was not in immediate danger.

He also heard talk of anyone age 55 and over in the UK being denied renal dialysis treatment.

"I helped many people over 55 with dialysis and how do you tell someone who is 54 that this is their last birthday.  You don't.  It's simply not true," he said.

For more on this topic, watch our NBC 17 News story in the monitor above. 

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