The dentist you talked about must have some associates in his clinic. Child support usually is a very heavy burden for the divorcee in western countries.
It's not a very accurate statement that we don't spend any money on health care here. OHIP(Ontario Health Insurance) doesn't pay all medical expenses, drug's excluded unless you are senior and with low income. Dental care, Chiropractic & Physio etc. are not covered either, however most of companies provide some level of coverage on above mentioned items as part of benefits.
However, nothing comes cheap:-) On top of the high tax I pay by every pay check, I have to pay additional $600 dollor for Ontario Health Care program at the year end as well.
I think the man in the documentary is really stupid to try saving the travel insurance, which's not really that expensive. I am glad that my company has benefits to cover the medical expenses occured while traveling outside of Ontario, and my corporate credit card also provides similiar coverage.
B.T.W: The documentary you watched, is it produced by Michael Moore?
Mei