Healthcare System

Healthcare System in Canada

Introduction to Healthcare System

Health Care System in Canada, network of providers, institutions, and insurers that care for the health of Canadians. In Canada health care is delivered by private institutions-hospitals and physicians-that are not controlled directly by the government. This private delivery system is combined with a publicly financed health insurance system that is paid for by the provincial and federal governments. (In this article, the use of the term “provincial” refers to both provinces and territories, since territories and provinces play the same role in the health-care system.) This health insurance system is known as Medicare.

Each province in Canada has a separate health insurance system funded by provincial government revenues and contributions from the federal government. The federal government provides funding in a lump sum based on the province's population. Of the total spending on health care in Canada in 2005, provincial expenditures made up 59 percent and federal transfers to the provinces made up 14 percent. Private spending accounted for the remaining 27 percent. The largest outlays in 2004 were in these sectors: hospitals, 31 percent; drugs, 15 percent; and doctors, 13 percent.” (1)

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Notes and References

Information about Healthcare System in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Healthcare System

Healthcare System:Canadian System in Comparison

Introduction to Healthcare System

Although health care in Canada is expensive, the country's expenditures on health care resemble those in other industrialized countries and are considerably less than in the United States. In 2005 Canada spent a little more than C$130 billion, or about C$4,000 per person, on health care, representing 9.1 percent of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP). In contrast, health-care expenditures in the United States in the same year totaled 13.5 percent of the U.S. GDP, representing approximately C$5,700 per person. In Canada, about 69 percent of total health expenditures are publicly funded, whereas in the United States 45 percent of health expenditures are funded by the government.

Despite these differences in spending, the number of hospital beds per person in Canada is comparable to the United States (1 for every 270 people in Canada, and 1 for every 370 people in the United States). There is 1 physician for every 524 Canadians (compared to 1 for every 375 people in the United States). Canadian physicians are fairly evenly split between general practitioners and specialists. Hospitals in Canada are as well-equipped to deliver technologically advanced medical procedures as hospitals in other industrialized countries. However, the cost constraints of the Canadian system have made the use of certain expensive diagnostic equipment, such as MRIs, considerably less widespread than in the United States.

There is some debate among economists about the role of national health insurance in controlling health-care costs, but it is evident that the Canadian health-care sector, because of the government's involvement, spends considerably less on health care than the United States. There are numerous reasons for the cost difference, but the major factors include the lower administrative costs associated with single-payer insurance, the yearly spending caps set by global hospital budgets, and the negotiation of uniform billing fees with provincial physician associations.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

Information about Healthcare System in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Healthcare System

Law is our Passion

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This entry was last updated: August 24, 2014