Research Blog #4b - Global Perspective (Bonus Blog)

Healthcare in the US versus Canada 

There are as many ways to do healthcare as there are people, but typically systems only exists at the country-level (which, if you are counting Taiwan, there are 196). This means that there are at least 196 ways to do healthcare  - not counting al the countless ways the states could - and can - do it. For this bonus essay, I will be comparing the modern day healthcare system of the United States of America and Canada. As one probably (should) know, the United States of America and Canada are two neighboring countries, with Canada being to the north, and the United States to the south. While Europe was still in the colonization business, French people  conquered/maintained control of modern day Canada and the British did the same of the United States. (If one is interested in any thing more than this incredibly less rudimentary introduction,  I would tell you to google it as I don't have enough words to cover that in this blog post.)

A map of Canada (in blue) and the United States (in all the other colours)

Canada 
Canada has a healthcare plan that covers all citizens. It was built on the principal that  all citizens will receive all medically necessary and physician hospital services. It is made up of a group of socialized health care plans that provide care to all citizens.  While it is government funded, it is administered on a provincial basis (there are 13 different provinces and territories that all have their own versions of the government health plan).  Most if not all types of care are covered, and the vast majority (but not all) people in Canada can get healthcare coverage regardless of medical conditions/preexisting conditions, standard of living, or personal income. Of course, this all can change depending on which providence or territory one is in. Providences can chose to cover or not to cover services they deem as "supplementary", such as dental work and drug coverage. Because of this, approximately two thirds of Canadians take out private health plans to cover these costs (much of the costs can be covered by work sponsored plans, much like in the United States). Contrary to popular thought, around 30% of spending comes from private companies. In industries typically thought of supplementary this number can be higher (in 2011, 60% of spending on dentistry came from the private sector/was not payed for by the government). Overall, Canada as a nation has an incredibly long life expectancy rate of about 80 years and one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the industrialized countries.

Some arguments to Canada's current system is that it is slow, and can be hard to get treated in a timely matter. in 2011, 59% of patients reported having waited at least 4 weeks for an appointment (much like one might wait for an appointment at the DMV here in the United States of America). The Canadian government is doing many things to combat this, such as having set benchmark times for the maximum wait times in each providence. But 85% of Canadians say that it is central element in their Canadian identity. This could be due to the fact that it continuously produces excellent results (there are lower than average rates of a lot of things - like breast cancer - in Canada). But what does Canada spend? It spends around 11.4% of it's GDP, with healthcare generally lower than in the states. Doctors in Canada earn an average of $125,000 a year. But overall, 57% of Canadians are satisfied or really satisfied with their healthcare system and access to healthcare services.

The United States of America 
South of the American/Canadian border, in the United States of America, just 25% of this population is satisfied  with their access to healthcare services. But what exactly is America offering, healthcare wise? America has a hybrid system between a totally socialist/public/government funded system and a totally private system. Unlike Canada, it has no nationwide healthcare system. In 2014, 89.6% of American citizens had health coverage, with a mixture of private and government funding. Most public healthcare is privately delivered. In 2014, private funds accounted for 48% of healthcare spending (with 28% percent coming from households, and 20% coming from businesses), federal government spending accounting for 28%, while state and local governments accounting for 17% of spending. I am going to say the other 45% comes from other sources, as I can't seem to find where it comes from. Compared to other countries in the OECD organization (which Canada is part of), the US is one of the lowest spenders in healthcare.  As I said earlier, many American citizens are dissatisfied with their care. One reason is that everything about healthcare can be very, very expensive - sometimes even with health coverage. While care tends to be very prompt, people are paying hefty sums for that speed. Another reason is that America has high administrative cost fees - higher than many other countries including Canada.

One fact that I couldn't stick anywhere else is that an American doctor earns an average of $186,000 per year.



Sources 

- https://www.google.com/search?q=canada+health+care+system&oq=canada+heal&aqs=chrome.2.0j69i57j0l4.8206j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UT- http://www.canadian-healthcare.org/
-https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/07/01/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-canadian-health-care-in-one-post/?utm_term=.f6ec2584cafe
-http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/faq-eng.php
- http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/the-u-s-health-care-system-an-international-perspective/ UNITED STATES INFORMATION