nations for cancer patients, renal dialysis patients etc. 38 of these studies were included in a systematic review which concluded that, on average, mortality rates are 5% lower in Canada ( http://www.openmedicine.ca/article/view/\\... ). 4-A recent analysis of deaths that could be prevented by good medical care ranked the U.S. worst among the 19 nations studied, well behind Canada which ranked 6th. Moreover, while Canada's ranking improved between 1997 and 2003, the U.S. fell further behind. ( http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/con\\... ) There is much to criticize in Canada's health care system. But the O'Neill's analysis strays far from legitimate scientific discourse, mixing selective citation and creative accounting that is intellectually dishonest. Benjamin Zycher, an economist at the right wing Manhattan Institute, has recently issued a report disputing claims that a single payer health care reform would realize large administrative and overhead savings. We will briefly respond to the main arguments in Zycher's paper. 1-Medicare's administrative costs are far higher than the figure given in the National Health Accounts. The National Health Accounts indicate that administrative costs account for only 3% of total Medicare spending (vs. 14% in private insurers). But Zycher wants to add to this a proportional share of all government spending. That is, he claims that 14% of the President's salary, the cost of Congress, the FBI, the federal courts etc, should be attributed to Medicare, since Medicare accounts for 14% of federal spending. Based on this, he estimates "true" Medicare administrative costs at 6% of total outlays, and concludes that