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How is the older population impacting healthcare in the United States
Essay on medicare and aging population
Essay on medicare and aging population
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Canada is at a crossroads today. The number of older Canadians is increasing dramatically as the baby boomers age. All across the country, waiting lists keep growing and many patients cannot find a family doctor. Governments have huge deficits and hard pressed for additional funds. Critics argue that urgent action is needed and that by encouraging people to pay will lessen wait times. However, in reality Canadians would be worse off if they had to pay for some of their medical care themselves. First, if patients have to pay for medical care, currently publicly funded, many families will avoid going to the doctor endangering their health. Researchers found that user charges implemented in Saskatchewan in 1968 and abolished seven years later reduced the annual use of Physician services by about six per cent (Beck, R.G. & Horne, J, 787). In 1996, Quebec implemented a scheme requiring patients to pay part of the cost of drugs. The Journal of American Medical Association conducted a study on this which revealed that patients reduced their use of less critical drugs and critical drugs and seriously affecting their health (421). This would deter or delay using the health system until their illness gets serious. User fees would deter the frugal, less advantaged and lower income from getting the help that they need. Do we as a society want parents to decide whether parents should take their kids to the doctor or buy groceries? Secondly, health insurance policies are inconsistent, expensive, cumbersome, hard to discern, full of fine print and contain many loopholes. Most Canadians face a huge tax burden, rising cost of living and will not be able to pay for these additional medical expenses out of the pocket. To offload risk, most indiv... ... middle of paper ... ...l increase as more professionals opt to work in the private health sector in order to earn more money. Lastly, survey after survey Canadians have supported their health care system in which access is based on need rather than wealth. Medicare is a Canadian success story, something that all of us are proud of, not perfect of course but something that binds a country of six time zones. Works Cited Beck, R.G. & Horne, J. "Utilization of Publicly Insured Health Services in Saskatchewan Before, During and After Co-payment", Medical Care, 18 (1980): 787-806. Simpson, Jeffry. Chronic Condition Why Canada’s health-care system needs to be dragged into the 21st century. Toronto: Penguin Group, 2012. Print Tamblyn, Robyn, et al. “Adverse Events Associated With Prescription Drug Cost-Sharing Among Poor and Elderly Persons.” JAMA 285.4 (2001): 421-429. Print
LaPierre, T. A. (2012). Comparing the Canadian and US Systems of Health Care in an Era of Health Care Reform. Journal of Health Care Finance, 38(4), 1-18.
A Canadian Dermatologist who once worked in the United States breaks down the pros and cons of Canada’s health care system and explains why he thinks the Canadian system is superior to America’s. Canada runs a single payer health care system, which means that health care is controlled by the government rather than private insurance companies. One of the main pros of the Canadian health care system is that everyone is insured. He says that in the province of Ontario, the Ministry of Health insures all of its citizens, all important health needs such as physician visits, home nursing and physical therapy are covered. Since every resident is covered under the government plan the problem of patients being turned away due to lacking medical coverage
At the beginning of the 20th century healthcare was a necessity in Canada, but it was not easy to afford. When Medicare was introduced, Canadians were thrilled to know that their tax dollars were going to benefit them in the future. The introduction of Medicare made it easier for Canadians to afford healthcare. Medicare helped define Canada as an equal country, with equal rights, services and respect for every Canadian citizen. Medicare helped less wealthy Canadians afford proper healthcare. Canadian citizens who had suffered from illness because they could not afford healthcare, were able to get proper treatment. The hospitals of Canada were no longer compared by their patients’ wealth, but by their amount of service and commitment. Many doctors tried to stop the Medicare act, but the government and citizens outvoted them and the act was passed. The doctors were then forced to treat patients in order of illness and not by the amount of money they had. Medicare’s powerful impact on Canadian society was recognized globally and put into effect in other nations all around the world. Equality then became a definition which every Canadian citizen understood.
By 1971, all Canadians were guaranteed access important medical services regardless of income, employment, or health. Canada has one of the highest life expectancies and he lowest infant mortality rates of industrialized countries, which many attribute to Canada’s health care system. In 1984, the Canada Health Act was passed. This act added provisions that prohibited extra billing and user fees for covered services. To support the ten year plan, the federal government increased health care to the Canada Health Transfer from 2006-2007 until 2013-2014 to provide growth in federal funding. On the other end the United states private for profit insurers based our premiums on age, gender, health status, and pre-existing conditions only covering the healthiest people and avoiding the sickest individuals which in turn e...
Brian Lindenberg, “Canadian Healthcare: What Works and What Doesn’t | Benefits Canada,” accessed February 14, 2014, http://www.benefitscanada.com/benefits/health-wellness/canadian-healthcare-what-works-and-what-doesn%E2%80%99t-27647.
The Canadian Alliance Party’s plan is to make several policy developments to benefit Canada’s health care. They believe it will serve the security and well-being of all Canadians. The last party involved in this issue is the NDP Party who indicate that they are fighting hard for a better health care system in our economy. The NDP Party states that the income of a family should not dictate the quality of health care. Canada’s health care system is gradually growing to be a major concern in today’s society, providing Canadians with the standard of care they deserve.
The healthcare system in Canada has been heralded as one of the best in the world. It has been cited as a model for other countries grappling with spiraling healthcare costs, quality of care, and access to care (Evans and Roos 1999). Even politicians from the United States have looked to Canada’s system as a model for their own health care reform efforts. Canadians spend significantly less on healthcare than their neighbors to the south, the United States (Kliff 2012). However, Canada’s healthcare system is not perfect. Some might critique the long waiting periods for appointments or the limited resources readily available for citizens. Harsher critics of the Canadian healthcare system simply oppose state sponsored healthcare. Canada’s system might demonstrate some faults, but in a
The two major components of Medicare, the Hospital Insurance Program (Part A of Medicare) and the supplementary Medical Insurance program (Part B) may be exhausted by the year 2025, another sad fact of the Medicare situation at hand (“Medicare’s Future”). The burden brought about by the unfair dealings of HMO’s is having an adverse affect on the Medicare system. With the incredibly large burden brought about by the large amount of patients that Medicare is handed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to fund the system in the way that is necessary for it to function effectively. Most elderly people over the age of 65 are eligible for Medicare, but for a quite disturbing reason they are not able to reap the benefits of the taxes they have paid. Medicare is a national health plan covering 40 mi...
Canada is the only country with universal health care coverage and no prescription drug coverage (1) and yet pharmaceuticals make up the second largest health care cost in Canada. Canadian provinces hold the responsibility of health care delivery and pharmaceutical coverage .cost accessibility and usage of medicine considerably varies across
Canada has one of the best health care services around the world and especially among the develope tod nations. Under Canada’s health system, everyone is covered regardless of age, race, and income but must be a legally eligible resident. The United States is the only, nation among the developed nation that does not guarantee a universal health care coverage for everyone. Rather than government health insurance program imposes, each individual is responsible for their own health coverage.
“In 2010, Medicare spent an estimated $48 billion– our tax dollars – on overpayment and waste. But the most tragic victims are people who need medical care but don’t have the money to pay for it”. (Allen), Furthermore, by physician also pay a important role which have an impact on the spending as well. The doctor orders masses of procedures to show that he or she has done their due diligence in diagnosing the patient. Unfortunately, all of these unnecessary tests and procedures lead to unnecessary custodies and cost to the patient. Another example of overtreatment is the use of services or procedures that have a slight benefit over the generic, fewer costly alternative events. When different treatment options provide equal results, but one costs more than the other, healthcare money is often wasted on the more expensive option. Another factor is choosing different healthcare plan. The government will distribute an enormous amount of money to healthcare plan even though many people wouldn’t be able to afford the plan. While the government noticed that many people won’t able to afford the rates, they still providing more money to plans. Studies shown that “6,027 adults ages 19 and older in the U.S., found that a quarter of adults with at least one chronic condition who met the criteria for being underinsured didn’t fill a prescription or skipped doses due to cost, compared with 7 percent of
Canadians are very fortunate to have near universal healthcare, as in many third-world countries such a program is considered impossible. Consequently, many fatalities occur due to lack of proper medical treatment regarding their illness. In fact, a 2003 study by WHO (World Health Organization) states, ” More than 10 million children die each year, most from preventable causes and almost all in poor countries”. These statistics should reinforce our gratefulness toward our healthcare system and allow us to better ours and other systems. As a result of better health, Canadians have the ability to invest time into other ventures like recreational activities, and education which undoubtedly allows for a better quality of life. Healthcare is why I feel fortunate to live in a country which can look past wealth or poverty and treat a child, teenager, adult or a senior citizen as a human
Canada uses the universal health care system but what pays for it? They have to come up with the money some how, so they spread it out everywhere else. Causing the prices of gas, and others to rise dramaticaly. But it also raised minimum
Thought the Canadian health system has many benefits there are disadvantages that correspond. One of the major disadvantages is access to care can sometime be a significant problem.
To significantly reduce the waiting list/ wait time, more Canada trained physicians are needed. Currently, there only 17 medical schools in Canada compare to 172 (and counting) medical schools in the United States. The low number of medical schools in Canada means there would be less physician to care for the increasing number of aging population in the future. Consequently, the waiting list/ wait time problem would not be solved even if primary care activities are contracted to other health care providers like nurse practitioners. Also, with low number of physicians graduating from the Canada medical schools, the number of trained specialist would still be low, which would not improve the delay older Canadians expect to obtain from specialist. Another opportunity is to increase patent protection and streamline the regulation of pharmaceuticals between the ten provincial authorities. This would not only boost incentives for innovations, it would increase the number of new clinical trials for new