Final Project
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Final Project
Comparison of Healthcare in US and Canada There are various differences between the healthcare systems in Canada and US. The differences were indelibly noted in 2004 after a policy analyst compared the two countries on the healthcare systems. According to the analysis, it was noted that US has an expensive healthcare system that doubles the Canadian healthcare systems. According to the percapita income expenditure on health report, the U.S spends $6,096 while Canada spends $3,038. On the other hand, other studies that were conducted later after the study was done indicate that the Canadian healthcare systems are better than the U.S healthcare systems. The reviews illustrated that the Canadian healthcare systems give the Canadians better and superior healthcare services as compared to the U.S (Pylypchuk&Sarpong, 2013). Pylypchuk andSarpong (2013) contended that various analysts have found that U.S is one of the countries whose spending on healthcare is big, but suffers the poorest healthcare for its people. Reports show that Canada has longer life expectancy than the US. The report on infant mortality in Canada shows that Canada is better than U.S by a great margin. Although analysts say that the comparative analysis do not give consistent differences between the healthcare systems, U.S is one of the countries that has been spot-lit of the idea of expensive healthcare. The actual reasons for the differences between the Canada and U.S are not yet determined; however, analysis by the World Health Organizations by the ratings of the healthcare in 191 member nations indicate that U.S is 72nd while Canada is 35th. There is need for improving the status of healthcare in the U.S so that citizens of can enjoy favorable healthcare costs and better healthcare services. The underlying causes of poor healthcare in U.S can be determined through comparative analyses that purport to point out the strength s in the healthcare systems of other nations with better healthcare systems (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). The government squarely funds the healthcare systems of Canada. Few healthcare systems are funded privately in Canada. Although Canada is one of the nations that have not been able to adopt the technology in medicine, it boasts some of the best healthcare systems as compared to contemporary developed nations. Analyses on some of the problems that Canada has experienced with its healthcare system include the increased mortality rates for various selective conditions. However, there is increased development of the healthcare status in Canada that has significantly reduced the mortalityrates in Canada. Rigorous activity of the healthcare administrators in Canada has ensured improvement of the healthcare status in Canada as compared to the U.S. currently, the mortality rates for some diseases and conditions in Canada have been improved (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). The healthcare system in the U.S. does not ensure universal healthcare for its citizens. It is considered as the heaviest expender in the world affecting the employers, the healthcare consumers and the government budget as well. Analysts say that the U.S government should add resources to the public sector so that they can enhance the costs of healthcare services. Canada uses the U.S healthcare system as reference for warning against the poor private-based healthcare resource. On the other hand, the U.S healthcare system describes the Canadian healthcare system as monopolistic that should be avoided (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). Pylypchuk and Sarpong (2013) contend that both Canada and the U.S had similar healthcare systems in the past; however, Canada improved their healthcare systems in terms of funding. Canada adopted the single payer healthcare system that ensures a universal healthcare for every individual Canadian. The US has mixed systems where the funding is done by both the public and the private sector. The healthcare system in the U.S has led to 16% non-insurance for individuals. The U.S has failed in ensuring universal healthcare for its people unlike the Canada that has worked hard to ensure that every citizen gets universal care. In Canada, the federal government ensures that they fund the healthcare services in their provincial governments. They have comprehensive Canada Health Act that makes all the provinces legible for funding. The Act prevents billing by the Medicare as seen in the U.S.although; few critics who say that the single-payer healthcare system used in Canada is a socialized medicine. In United States, federal government works towards funding the healthcare services; nevertheless, the federal government in the U.S ensures that the funding is done through Medicare and Medicaid as well as the State Children’s Insurance Program. In the U.S, there are myriad insurance programs such as insurance program for eligible senior citizens, very poor citizens, disabled citizens and children. This funding makes the healthcare systems in the U.S to be very expensive for the federal government of the United States (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). In the U.S., 25% of the citizens are eligible for various healthcare insurance programs; however, they remain non-insured. The federal government also faces the challenge of the Veterans Administration that is responsible for funding the healthcare services that are offered to the Veterans through the clinics and medical centers. The other individuals in U.S are forced to pay for the healthcare services privately (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). Their employers pay for a number of insured people in the U.S. However, the payments for the healthcare services by the employers are varied across employees. Additionally, there are people who are not insured and therefore must be able to pay for their healthcare services alone. The federal governments and the state agencies in the U.S are tasked with funding and are increasingly involved in the healthcare issues. They influence the legislation as well as the regulation of the healthcare services. On the contrary, the Canadian government funds the Canadian healthcare systems ensure that about 69-75% of the system. Canada also has a small portion of the system being funded by the private systems that are physician-based.Somephysicians, who offer private services in their private clinics, receive most of their funding from the government (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). Although Canada offers a universal healthcare system to its citizens, the healthcare services do not include the other services. The cosmetic dental services are usually offered to the children up to the age of 14 after which an individual becomes responsible for such services in adulthood. Although there are some provinces that offer the drug costs programs, the prescription drugs are not often covered by the Canadian healthcare systems. In U.S, there is regulation of the drug costs where the branded drugs are usually cheaper.Services such as optometry are only covered in selective provinces in Canada and up to certain age for the children. However, the systems require additional fee when an individual makes frequent visits to a healthcare facility. Certain special procedures such as circumcision may not be covered under the Canadian healthcare system unless there is special consideration (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). The Canadian healthcare system is different from the U.S healthcare system because the U.S spent huge amount of its GDP on war while Canada ensured a public funding of the healthcare system. The national health plans were hard to be scaled after war by the U.S. Moreover, the broken economy also deprived the government of the U.S from supporting the expenditure on the healthcare systems. The U.S government therefore spends a lot of money on the healthcare programs than on the social security and national defense. This has seriously affected the status of the healthcare systems in the U.S as compared to Canadian healthcare system.One of the reasons why there is better healthcare system in Canada is because the legislation systems in Canada are easier as compared to the legislation in the U.S. passing of healthcare bills in Canada parliamentary systems are comparatively easier than passing bills in the U.S (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). Pylypchuk and Sarpong (2013) say that although every single Canadian has access to the healthcare services in the country, there is a slight problem with the coverage of the healthcare systems. There is deficit of doctors that are unable to serve the Canadian population adequately. This makes larger numbers of Canadians to visit emergency rooms for assistance due to lack of doctors and physicians. The U.S healthcare programs is not universal, however, the federal government ensures that they offer services to the poor, elderly and children in the country. There is also an enhanced access to the emergency services and treatment to every citizen in the U.S. all the citizens of America have the access to emergencies services regardless of their ability to pay for the services. In the U.S., 60% of individuals who are insured have access to healthcare services. Their employers insure these people under jobs. Only 27% of the insured individuals have government funded insurance programs while rest is privately insured. Another 9% of the insured percentage directly buys the insurance. As at 2005, reports indicated that 15.9% of individuals were uninsured. Most individuals, who are uninsured, are individuals who cannot afford the insurance subscriptions whereas there is one-third of an individual who can afford the insurance, but remains uninsured (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). In Canada, there are free clinics that are focused in providing low-cost care for the poor individuals without the insurance coverage. On the other hand, the free clinics also offer free services to the individuals who attend their clinics. Most individuals in the U.S without insurance face many unmet healthcare services. Others also tend to remain unattended to making them to experience complicated healthcare issues. Uninsured individuals in the U.S have serious issues of access to healthcare as compared to the insured individuals in the United States. The wait times in Canada are longer than the waiting times in the U.S. The U.S. healthcare system has sufficient and efficient technology-driven system that ensures an expedited treatments and management of the healthcare issues in patients. However, the Canadian healthcare systems experience lengthy hours (Pylypchuk & Sarpong, 2013). According to Pylypchuk andSarpong (2013), the costs for healthcare are one major issue in both Canada and the U.S. The U.S. spends relatively higher than Canada on healthcare services. There is a lot of percapita income that the U.S puts into healthcare than Canada. Reports indicate that the differences are due to the difference in demographics of the countries. The differences result from the politics of healthcare, the demographics of the two countries, the technology difference, drugs as well as the difference between the healthcare professionals. The two countries have expensive healthcare systems; however, the healthcare systems in Canada are less expensive and comprehensive as compared to healthcare system of the United States.

Reference
Pylypchuk, Y., & Sarpong, E. M. (2013). Comparison of Health Care Utilization: United States versus Canada. Health Services Research, 48(2pt1), 560-581. doi:10.1111/j.1475- 6773.2012.01466.x