The Canadian health care system is a single-payer, coverage for all system. Health care coverage is provided through public funding, while spending is done at the province level. This health care system, known as Medicare, is free to all who use it with no extra costs needed to be paid for out of pocket (Ridic et al., 2012). Medicare allows Canadians access to medically necessary services such as preventive services, emergency services, and prescription drug services. In Canada, the government provides 70% of health care spending, while private spending covers the remaining 30%. Private spending is used mostly for dentists, optometrists, and drugs that the government does not cover. Because of this, Canadians can purchase private supplemental insurance through their employers to cover any costs Medicare does not provide (Carroll, 2012). Most Canadian hospitals are funded publicly and operate under a fixed budget (Ridic et al., 2012). While this is mainly …show more content…
Canada also has somewhat of a reputation for wait times. Data however does not support this assertion (Government of Canada, 2017). Canada is quite good about being transparent about its wait times. Any individual can go to official websites and see the average wait times for any kind of service simply by using the internet. Although wait times in Canada are mostly for elective, non-life-threatening type services, they tend to be longer than most would like. The reason why there are wait times in the first place is because the way Canada sees it, limiting supply is cost-effective (Government of Canada, 2017). Since Canada spends so little on health care, the country has the ability to spend more money on tons of other areas in need. Canada also tends to focus less on process measures, such as how quickly an individual can receive an optional MRI, and more on the outcomes that actually matter to health (Carroll,
Shaw’s article relates greatly to my topic. I want to argue that the United States private insurance health care system needs to be replaced with single payer healthcare, and this article shows how Canada’s single payer system is superior to the United States”. Shaw’s explanation of how the Canadian system is better can help me to prove that the United States needs to get on with the rest of the developed world in terms of health care coverage. One of the examples that Shaw used to show that Canada’s system is better is by pointing to the fact that Canada effectively covers all of its citizens, “In the Canadian system, the number of uninsured patients is negligible because there are no private insurers to reject uninsurable patients” (Shaw 2004). This is far different from the United States where we have over thirty million Americans uninsured. In this way Canada’s system is superior to the United States which will help me to prove that the United States need’s a single payer health care system similar to Canada. Another way in which Shaw shows how Canada’s system is superior is in that the cost of health care is less burdensome on the citizens, “Canada has not yet experienced crises over high premiums like those that have occurred in several regions of the United States, resulting in doctor “walkouts.” The fact that Canada doesn’t have the issue of highly expensive premiums and doctors refusing to take surgeries is another example I can use to prove that single payer is better and the United States needs to change to a system similar to Canada’s. This article also can help me to develop a nice rebuttal to attacks on single payer health care from the right. The American right often criticizes single payer health care by citing the long wait times and even claiming some people die waiting to get the medical coverage they need. Shaw shows in his article that while wait times for same procedures may be true emergency surgeries are prioritized, “ For example, the
Have you ever been sick? Chances are you have. Medical care is very expensive; a simple check-up can cost up to and over $100. If a check-up costs that much money, think about how much an operation might cost. If it weren’t for Medicare or (Free) Universal Health Insurance, it is possible that some of you would be bankrupt by now. The inventor of this system is Tommy Douglas, voted the greatest Canadian of all time by the CBC broadcasting channel. This remarkable man was the former premier of Saskatchewan for 17 years and the father of Medicare.
In Samuelson and Antony’s book Power and Resistance, renowned sociologist Professor Pat Armstrong tackles the topic of health care reform from a critical feminist perspective. Her analytic critique of the historic tenets of Health Care policy in Canada, effectively points out a systemic disadvantage for the women of our society. Which, in the spirit of transparency, completely blind sighted me as a first time reader because, well, this is Canada. Canada, the internationally renowned first world nation with a reputation for progressive social reform. The same Canada that Americans make fun of for being ‘too soft’. As far as the world is concerned we’re the shining nation-state example of how to do health care right. Needless to say, Professor
An analysis of the US and Canada’s systems reveals advantages and drawbacks within each structure. While it is apparent that both countries could benefit from the adoption of portions of the others system, Canada’s healthcare system offers several benefits over the US system.
“Health is the state of complete physical, mental, social and intellectual well-beings not merely an absence of disease”(WHO,1998).Good health is essential in life as people’s career will be affected if they fall ill.. In the developed countries like Australia, People who are not involved in the healthy lifestyle are suffering from a range of health disorders like overweight, high blood pressure, obese, heart diseases, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, kidney problems, liver disorders and so many. To overcome these health issues Australian government introduced health care system. This essay will firstly, discuss the Australian health care system and secondly, compare Australia with other countries around the world in relation to different consideration on health.
It is an assumption by many that Canada has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. But do they really? There are numerous health services in Canada which should be part of the universal care nonetheless are not. These include but are not limited to: dental care, vision care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and prescription drug coverage. This report will solely focus on why basic dental care should be a part of the Canadian universal healthcare. Dental care is predominantly delivered in the private sector on a fee-for-service basis, with approximately 62.6% of Canadians paying for care through employment-based insurance and 31.9% through out-of-pocket expenditures and only a small amount of the Canadians, 5.5%, are qualified for public funding through government assistance programmes (Ramraj and Quinonez, 2012). It was seen that by 2009, dental coverage affordability became a problem not just for the low income families but also impacted middle-income earners as a result of their lack of, or decreased access to comprehensive dental insurance (Ramraj, 2013). It is stated by the World Health Organization that universal health care coverage should reassure access to necessary care and protect patients from financial hardship, and that the governments are obligated to
Canadians may not be able to receive coverage for certain treatment such as dental and any kind of cosmetic, some medications and others procedures; a person may have to buy private insurance to cover this. If a Canadian resides in one part of a sector of the country and moves, he/she can continue to get healthcare from their previous sector until healthcare becomes available in their new sector. Canada spends little to no money...
Canada’s health care system is one of the top in the world; due to the federal legislation for publicly funded health care insurance. Requiring provinces and territories to follow certain conditions and guidelines to maintain universal health care, which is known as the Canada Health Act passed in 1984. There are five main principles within the Canada Health Act; public administrations, comprehensiveness, universality, accessibility, and portability. Moreover there are three aspects within the principles, equity, access and undeserved. Several marginalized populations do not receive the adequate health care even though the Canada Health Act is in place to help “protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of
Health care has become an issue because of the shortage of doctors in Canada. Many of them are either going to the U.S.A. or going to other countries to practice in hospitals and clinics. The earning cap imposed by the government has forced doctors to work fewer hours than are necessary to serve the public. Many Canadians are without a doctor to help them with their needs, and emergency rooms are filled to capacity with no available beds for those who have to be admitted to the hospital. Waiting time for specialist and specialty tests has become so long that someone diagnosed with a major illness may die before they can be properly treated.
“Homelessness can be the cause as well as the result of poor health” (Wise, Emily, Debrody, Corey &ump; Paniucki, Heather, 1999, p.445). This is a reoccurring theme that has existed within the homeless population for decades. While programs to help reduce this constant circle are being put in place all over the country to provide medical services for the homeless to be able to go to, many are still finding that health care needs for individuals as well as homeless communities are not being met. Many studies have been completed that study both the opinion on healthcare by those who have access to sufficient health care and homeless people’s perceptions on health care administration. While many companies are working to provide more personal health care systems, it appears that the larger problem is with a lack of people know about the health care systems that are in place to help them. Companies are trying to advertise more often to inform homeless people that there is health care out there for them.
Healthcare plays an important role in almost every person’s life at one point or another. Many times, one can get caught without, or underinsured and it can be detrimental to their livelihood. With the rising cost of healthcare, it is likely that having a national healthcare policy in place, and as an individual, being able to afford and obtain adequate health insurance has not been required until now. With the new national healthcare plan, it is required for all citizens to obtain and maintain some sort of public or private insurance policy. The rising costs can be attributed to many things. A significant reason for the astronomical cost of health care is because of the staggering amount of uninsured or underinsured individuals receiving medical attention and almost many never paying the bill. Those who do have insurance have seen a gradual increase in their premiums and deductibles to make up for this.
In the past, Canada’s government-funded, universally accessible, health care system has been praised and admired both at home and abroad as one of the finest in the world. A great source of pride and comfort for many Canadians is that it is based on five fundamental principles. Principles that are a reflection of the values held by Canadian citizens since the formation of Medicare in 1966. These principles were reinforced in the Canada Health Act, (CHA), of 1984 and state that the Canadian system is universal, accessible, portable, comprehensive and non-profit.
Whereas in the United States, “Obamacare, depends on your job or income.If you lose your job or lose your income, and you might lose your existing health insurance or have to settle for lesser coverage(Ralph Nader).” With Obamacare the list of doctors are strict that you are allowed to visit, which is a big issue for many American.In Canada, “you can freely choose your doctors and hospitals and keep them. There are no lists of in-network vendors and no extra hidden charges for going out of network.(Ralph Nader)” Canadians say it is unheard of for anyone to go bankrupt from healthcare cost unlike in America where healthcare drives many Americans to the plague of
...ue to numerous medical errors. With the amount of medical errors that currently do occur which is a current health care issue it cost the health care billions of dollar each year to fix the mistakes that were made.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.