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A Comparison of the United States and Canada Healthcare Systems

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A Comparison of the United States and Canada Healthcare Systems

The United States is the only industrially advanced nation with over 15 percent of its population uninsured for health care services.(1) This aspect of American health policy has earned us a reputation of "backwardness"; for both Western Europe and Canada have systems of universal entitlement to health care (Torrance, 1984). A comparison of the American healthcare system to the Canadian health care system reveals the difference is cost, government involvement, philosophical attitude, and overall health of the citizens. In regards to economics, the American system practically doubles the cost of Canada per-capita bus yet does not yield the healthiest citizens, which clearly indicate there is room for change to improve or reform the U.S. healthcare system. This reform starts with the exchange of dialogue between the two countries policy makers and healthcare experts by identifying and implementing changes that are improvements of specific healthcare needs. Neither model is perfect but there are lessons that can be shared that could possibility lead to a more efficient healthcare system for both the United States and Canada. The United States and Canada are culturally similar therefore it is a realistic possibility that Americans could adopt a huge portion of the Canadian model and be successful with it. One of the main differences between the two separate healthcare systems is the huge gap in cost when comparing the cost per-capita of each country. According to the World Health Statistics 2013, the United States spends approximately $8,233 per-capita compared to Canada spending $4,443 per-capita on healthcare (WHO, 2013). However, less than half of all health care cost is covered under this huge spending by the American government. American citizens spend an average of $3,500 or more out-of-pocket on healthcare to include dental, eye care and prescription drugs. The United States spends two-and-a-half times more than the OECD average health care expenditure per person. At 17.4% of GDP in 2009, US health care spending is half as much again as any other country, and nearly twice the average (OECD, 2011). A country with more money usually spends more on their healthcare system than those that are financially less capable from an economic stance. The question, where does the difference lie that drives the cost of American healthcare above the rest of the world? One difference can be tied to the single payer policy, the Canadian system places the financial responsibility on a single payer; allowing for more control of healthcare cost and improves upon the administrative efficiency by minimizing the number of entities involved in a transaction. A large percentage of the American healthcare system cost is related to the cost for doctors, hospitals and administrative charges. America’s hospital cost alone is 60% higher when compared to five other OECD countries (OECD, 2011). There are failures and success in both the American and Canadian system, more money does not necessarily means a better healthcare system. The Canadian system cost less and it also has many limitations that make some parts of it less attractive than the American system, such as the average wait time for a patient to consult a specialist or consult a physician in non-emergency situations is much longer under the Canadian system. Canada’s system does not actually promote health and wellness but protects against fundamental illness; there are long term cost concerns, and policy terms that are simply too broad and needs to redefined their scope. The American system advantages are its’ bigger investment into advance technology and medicine, because of this less Americans are prescribe unnecessary drugs, lower heartache rate in the United States. The Affordable Care Act allows for those that could not be covered by insurance because of pre-existing illness or financial hardship to now be able to afford coverage. Americans have the freedom to choose their doctors, type of insurance coverage, and physicians can choose where they would like to practice. The American system invests millions of dollars annually into research to ensure the best cutting edge treatment is available. Universality is the important component of the Canadian system that the U.S. can take away. A universal system provides equality of care for all citizens and minimizes the division between social groups that tend to think they are paying for the benefits of other and not receiving anything in return. Containment of cost is part of what Americans want from their healthcare system as well as a healthcare system that treats the source of illness and not the symptoms. Healthcare is a right to all citizens and big government policymakers are held accountable to make the cost fit within the budget without compromising citizens’ health.

References

OECD (2011), Health at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/health_glance-2011-en. WHO/ World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory (GHO). World Health Statistic 2013. retrieved June 23, 2013 from http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2013/en/.
Torrance, G. W. (1984). "Health Status Measurement for Economic Appraisal." Retrieved June 23, 2013. http://www.nyu.edu/projects/rodwin/american.html.

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