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Health Care - United States vs. Canada
Government Involvement
The two neighbours are a dramatic contrast. Canada has the world's most fully socialized health care system while the United States is the only OECD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) country not to have some form of guaranteed health insurance.
The governments of both nations are closely involved in the delivery of health care. The central structural difference between the two is in health insurance. In Canada all citizens are guaranteed access to health care by the Canada Health Act, which explicitly prohibits billing end users for procedures that are covered by Medicare. In the United States health insurance must be paid for privately if one is not disabled or over 65, in most cases by a person’s employer. However, there are about forty million Americans who do not have health insurance.
Canada's health plan only covers certain areas. Dental care is not covered, and optometry is only covered in some provinces. Also, some procedures are only covered under certain circumstances. For example, circumcision is not covered, and a fee is usually charged when a parent requests the procedure; however, if an infection or medical necessity arises, the procedure would be covered. When compared, the privately managed sectors of the health system have similar rates of participation and treatment in both countries.
Cost of Health Care
Health care is of the most expensive items of both nations’ budgets. In 2001, in Canada, about 16.2% of government money was spent on health care, while in the United States this number was 17.6%. When exchange rates are included it can be seen that government in the United States spends more per capita on health care than it does in Canada. In 2001, the government of Canada spent $1533 (in US dollars) per person on health care, while in the United States it gave $2168.
Despite the American government paying more per capita, private sources also pay far more for health care in the United States. In Canada an average of $630 dollars is spent annually by individuals or private insurance companies for health care, including dental, eye care, and drugs. In the United States this number is $2719.
In 2001 the United States spent in total 13.6% of its annual GDP on health care. In Canada only 9.5% of the GDP was spent on health care.
Drugs
Another much higher cost in the United States is that of prescription drugs and medicines. Canada has laws that impose less rigorously medical patents. Generic drugs are thus allowed on Canadian shelves sooner. The Canadian system also takes advantage of centralized buying by the provincial governments that have more market heft and buy in bulk, lowering prices. This typically delays the introduction of new medications into the Canadian market. However, despite this Canada continues to be a world leader in the research and development of pharmaceuticals.
Quality of Care
While Canada’s health system is cheaper, it compares well with the American one statistically. Life expectancy in 2002 was about two and a half years lower in the United States than Canada. With Canadians living to an average of 79.8 years and Americans 77.3. Infant and child mortality rates are also markedly higher in the United States.
When comparisons of public satisfaction are made between the two nations' health care systems, the numbers for Canadians and insured Americans are almost identical. This holds true in average annual doctor's visits. While a good number of Canadians complained that they were unable to receive treatment due to long wait lists, overall Canadians had no greater number of people unable to receive treatment than insured Americans.
A much greater difference was seen, however, between uninsured Americans and Canadians. Overall the uninsured group was much less satisfied, less likely to have seen a doctor, and more likely to have been unable to receive desired care than both Canadians and insured Americans. This leads to numbers somewhat lower for Americans.
Effect of Poverty
If the poorest twenty percent of Americans were excluded from health statistics, Canadian and American life expectancy and infant mortality rates would be almost identical.
There is some disagreement as to whether the poor are less healthy merely because they have reduced access to medical treatment in the United States. The fact that the poor are also generally poorer in the United States is believed by many to contribute greatly to reduced health. If this is the case, then not only adopting Canada's health care system but other social welfare programs may also be necessary to bring American health levels up to Canadian ones.
However, the wealthy are more likely to be more healthy in the United States than Canada. The better health of this smaller group cannot statistically offset the poorer health at the much larger bottom levels of the socio-economic system.
Economic Effects
Conversely, the problem could be not poverty hurting health, but poor health causing poverty. Over a quarter of the American poor report chronic health difficulties, a level much higher than in Canada. This can make it far harder to find and hold a job and improve one's financial well being. Better overall health of the poor encourages social mobility and may play a role in it recently being easier to climb the social ladder in Canada than in the United States.
The economic effects of the differences in the two health system are hard to judge. Canada's higher taxes to pay for health care certainly have some negative impact on its economy. There are some benefits as well, however. Major corporations often find it cheaper to pay those taxes rather than having to provide expensive employee health plans as in the United States. This is especially true of the auto industry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_and_American_health_care_systems_compared
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