"What are the differences in quality of care between the U.S. free markets based system as compared to the universal health insurance program offered in Canada?"

Introduction

A little over five decades ago, Canada and the United States had very similar health care systems. Today however, they are very much different but rapidly growing closer in similar views and a universal health system. The Canadian system is more than ninety percent publicly financed, whereas the U.S. is funded primarily through private vectors. What is less clear is whether the two different health care systems produce differences in the quality of care for their respective populations. Quality of care is the fundamental goal of health care, yet it is difficult to define. It is a concept that health care policy and programming strives for, and that many have attempted to elucidate. Given its many components and manifestations, defining and quantifying quality of care, in the context of health, is extremely difficult. (Rhee, 1987, p.11) Canada has a universal system that insures every citizen yet there lies disparities within a common group, the Aboriginals. The U.S. has a free market health system that only provides to those citizens covered yet the U.S. spends almost double on health care than Canada; noted that health disparities among U.S. citizens are among the worst in the nation. Studies show that the quality of care in the U.S. rank higher than the quality care in Canada given that only small populations in Canada are underserved. How it is then that such a small populated culture in Canada has such a great effect on their quality of care when the U.S. currently discriminates and revokes health care to almost one fourth of its population? The Canadian system has seventy-five percent of its health care bills are publicly funded. This means