Universal Health Care in Canada The health care system in Canada today is a combination of sources which depends on the services and the person being treated. 97% of Canadians are covered by Medicare which covers hospital and physician services. Medicare is funded at a governmental and provincial level. People of First Nation and Inuit descent are covered by the federal government. Members of the armed forces, veterans, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are also covered by the federal government. Several services such as dental care, residential care, and pharmaceutical are not covered. The 13 provinces have different approaches to health care; therefore, it is often said that Canada has 13 healthcare systems (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). The access to advanced medical technology and treatment, the cost of healthcare, and the overall health of Canadians fares well in comparison with other countries such as the United States. Policies that have shaped Canadian Health Care Many policies have shaped Canadian healthcare. In 1962, Saskatchewan enacted the Medical Care Insurance Act (MCIA). The MCIA provided coverage in the province for services provided by physicians. Physicians were allowed to bill the patient for any amount over what the government would pay. Other provinces began considered similar programs. In 1966, the federal government passed the Medical Care Act. Under this act physician services were covered under programs administered at the provincial level. The fees were split at a 50% rate between the federal and provincial governments. Another act, known as the Hospital Act allowed the provinces to develop their own health plans. Some provinces took a more inflexible approach to billing. After these acts were implemente... ... middle of paper ... ...hat take place regarding health policy. Primary care reform is taking place across country. (Krieger, 2013).Canada is working towards integrating nurse practitioners in all provinces which may help lower wait times (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). References Johnson, J.A. & Stoskopf, H. (2010). Comparative Health Systems: Global Perspectives: Global perspectives. Sudbury, MA. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Krieger, M. (2013). Health Reforms Not Coming Quickly Enough. Plans & Trusts, 31(4), 19. 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. Pithoven, A. A. (2009). Why U.S. health care expenditure and ranking on health care indicators are so different from Canada’s. International Journal of Health Care Finance & Economics, 9(1), 1-24. doi:10.1007/s10754-008-9044-0
Neighboring countries, the United States and Canada, have close ties to one another, share the same language and have many of the same fundamental and religious beliefs. It is an interesting debt that provides a superior healthcare system. In order to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the two systems, this paper will review four important structural and functional elements of each system. 1. Who receives healthcare coverage?
Some of these aspects include long wait times, uneven distribution of care, and most importantly, the various costs. Canada's system is certainly not the worst, but it is not the best either. The provision of care for Canadians is not flawless, however it is significantly better than some of the forms of care in other parts of the world. In contrast to the United States, Canada's healthcare system is thought of as a shining example of what they wish to achieve, but there are a few holes that need to be filled before any country can look up to Canadian healthcare. One of the issues that need to be address in Canada's healthcare system is about delivery, as there can be some bias as to who is eligible for things like proper treatments and surgeries. Another example could be being referred to a specialist that is not covered under a patient's insurance, resulting in possibly high costs. Lest Canadians be forgetful of no hospital bills or be ungrateful for the quality of the care and facilities, many still need to be educated on why the healthcare system is not entirely perfect. Therefore, this paper will outline why Canada's healthcare system has
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.
Canada has a system that consists of socialized health insurance plans that provide coverage to all its citizens. Canada health care is largely government-funded, with most services provided by private enterprises with some publicly funds all, which is controlled and administered, within guidelines set by the federal government ("Healthy Canadians: A Federal report on Comparable Health Indicators ", 2009).
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
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.
Those who would claim that Canada’s health care is a universal one tier system could refer to the legal terms of the Canada Health Care Act. In particular, the point that states, “Universality: All insured residents are entitled to the same level of health care.” (“Canada Health Care Act”, 2007). In fact, many Canadians feel they have a right to be covered financially for any and all medical costs. According to the Globe & Mail, “Canadians have developed an incredible sense of Medicare entitlement: They want all care for all people, instantly and free of charge.” (Andre, 2009). It is true that the original intention was to make health care services available for Canadians, but the guidelines offer the same service to Canadians covered by the health plan. However, certain problems arose and modifications were needed because not al...
Newman, Alex. “Examining Healthcare: A Look Around the Globe at Nationalized Systems.” The New American. 15 Sep. 2008: 10. eLibrary. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
Today, Canadians are concerned with many issues involving health care. It is the responsibility of the provincial party to come up with a fair, yet reasonable solution to this issue. This solution must support Canadians for the best; it involves people and how they are treated when in need for health care. The Liberal party feels that they have the best solution that will provide Canadians with the best results. It states that people will have the protection of medicare and will help with concerns like: injury prevention, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, etc. 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 best for 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.
The public health care system in Canada is still flawed, proven through the wait times that many patients have to go through. Canadians may wait up to six to nine months for “non-urgent” MRIs . The waiting list is dreary for Canadians, unlike Americans who can get their services immediately through paying out-of-pocket, the long public sector in Alberta waits up to a year for services, the wait for cataract surgery was six weeks ; these waits for some patients put the public health care system to shame, and helps push the idea of the privatized health care system a bettering option for the future of the nation. Additionally, 41 percent of adult Canadians said they experienced a difficulty in accessing hospital and physician care on weekday nights and weekends . Furthermore, it is still evident that Canadians in fact pay a higher income tax compared to Americans, due to the fact that they are paying the fund the health care system through their taxes; however, it is still significantly less to pay for a public health care system than it is privatized . Privatization is further proved as a superior choice with regards to the discharge situation many Canadians face. In Canada, it is common to see patients discharged earlier than recommended due the rising amount of patients using the free-of-charge public health care system, patients are released “quicker and sicker” because of this . Additionally, when discharged, the public health care system does not cover home care and private nurse care ; further proving the notion that there is still some forms of privatization already in the health care system in
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
Niles, N. J. (2011). Basics of the U.S. health care system. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Primary health care is the essential step to the Canadian health system. It is often associated with other specialized health care sectors, and community services. Many patients visit various services under primary health care such as family doctors' offices, mental health facilities, nurse practitioners' offices; they make phone calls to health information lines, for example, Tele-health; and receive suggestions from physicians and pharmacists (First Ministers; meeting on healthcare, n.d.). This service can prevent patients from visiting the emergency department, when all that is required is some guidance and advice. Having primary care services can reduce the consumption of acute beds, where only seriously ill patients can use the acute beds when it is available. Primary care not only deals with sickness care, but it helps patients receive preventable measures; it promotes healthy choices (Primary health care, n.d.). The focus on appropriate health care services, when and where they are needed, enhanced the ability of individuals to access primary care in various settings: at home, in a hospital or any number of family health care venues, such as Family Health Teams (FHTs), Community Health Centres (CHCs), or Nurse Practitioner- led clinics. This paper will look at the litigious heated argument in the Romanow Report concerning primary care. It will begin with a discussion of the outcome of the Accord on Health Care Renewal (2003) and The First Ministers' Meeting on the Future of Health in Canada (2004), both referring to primary care, which will then be followed with an assessment and analysis of the different ways in which the accords have been addressed in support of primary care. Followed by a discussion about the changes on ...
Saskatchewan, the vast and rural Canadian province above Montana and North Dakota, is a place farther even than Vermont from centers of power. Barely a million people live in Saskatchewan and its largest city, Saskatoon, would not even be one of the fifteen biggest in California. In 1947, Saskatchewan began paying the hospital bills of everyone who lived there. No province had ever done anything like it. But people loved it and word spread. Three years later Alberta, the larger province next door, began doing the same thing. By the early 1960s, every Canadian province was doing it. In 1966, Canada passed a bill that made the Saskatchewan model national law. Canada had a single payer system.
The Canadian healthcare system is a socialized system that offers universal coverage to all Canadians at a cost, it is not for free. It is publicly funded and administered on a provincial basis. This means that each province collects money for healthcare from taxes. On average, each Canadian pays about $6,000-$9,000 per year- which is not that much different from the American private healthcare. The federal government collects the taxes then distributes money to each province based on the needs. The major requirement of the Canada Health Act is that all provinces, which do get federal money to deliver healthcare, have transparency and accountability, be universal and portable. This means that a Canadian living in one province can move to another province and still have the same medical coverage. The type of medical services provided is left to each province. While most of the basic health care is covered, plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons and certain other rehabilitation services are not covered. It is important to know that in this system there are often very long delays to get surgery or to see