Canada’s health care system is not really free as there are some monthly or yearly premiums to pay as well as taxes that pay for the entire health care system.
There may also be some out-of-pocket expenses for the various non-insured services.
Canada has access to universal health care regardless of status, income, employment, health, or age. The administration of health care is done based on province-to-province.
So when people try to evaluate the efficiencies of the universal health care system in Canada, here is a list of various pros and cons of universal health care to have better ideas about what is good and what is bad for this kind of single-payer health care system.
| Benefits Canadian Health Care System | Drawbacks Of the Canadian Health Care System |
|---|---|
| It is independent of the person’s job or income | Patients in urban areas typically receive better health coverage: |
| Taxes are much lower in the Canadian Healthcare system | It tends to be reactive instead of proactive |
| The healthcare system is quite easy and simple | Government interventions mean there is politics in health decisions: misrepresented |
| Any Canadian citizen can avail of healthcare in Canada | The healthcare costs in Canada are often misrepresented |
| There are multiple models of primary care delivery available |
Advantages Of The Canadian Health Care System:
Free to Choose the Doctors and The Hospital:
In Canada, you can freely choose the doctors and the hospitals of your choice according to your needs and keep them. There are no lists of “in-network” vendors and no extra hidden charges for going “out of network.”
This is probably one of the biggest advantages of the Canadian healthcare system it lets the patients choose their doctors and the hospital and keep them.
It is independent of the person’s job or income:
In Canada, healthcare coverage is not tied to the job or is not dependent on your income. All rich and the poor are treated in the same way in the same system and with the best quality guarantee.
In many countries, the health care system still depends on a person’s job or income.
That means if you lose your job or your source of income, you might have to lose your prevalent health insurance. But with the Canadian health care system, you do not have to worry about such circumstances.
Taxes are much lower in the Canadian Healthcare system:
In Canada, the health care system is funded by income, corporate taxes, and sales that are much lower than what other countries’ health care pay in insurance premiums directly and indirectly per employer.
In many countries out there, for the thousands of employers, it is more or less like pay or rather dies. That means that if you cannot pay the taxes, you may have to end up dying. But in the Canadian healthcare system, the taxes you pay as an employee are relatively much lower.
The healthcare system is quite easy and simple:
In the case of the Canadian Healthcare system, it is quite handy, easy, and simple. You get a health care card when you are born. And you need to swipe it when you go to a doctor or a hospital. And that is the End of the story.
This makes the entire process of treatment and check-up easy and hassle-free, unlike other various healthcare systems of other countries where you must fill up tons of forms, and there are plenty of formalities to be done to carry out a treatment.
Any Canadian citizen can avail of healthcare in Canada:
In Canada, anyone can get health care, which is this system’s major advantage. As long as the person is a resident of Canada, he or she will receive some level of health care.
People who are unemployed, student, or disabled can avail of it without a hassle. Pensioners and so on can also get health care in Canada. This is often the most discussed pro of universal health care, so it is heavily promoted.
Hence, as the Canadian government administers it, the support for this health care system is indeed to improve the overall health of the citizens.
There are multiple models of primary care delivery available:
The Canadian healthcare system provides a similar delivery of primary care services as you can find in the United States. You can visit with a solo physician, be a member of a group practice, receive team-based care, or maybe be cared for by a nurse or a practitioner.
This variety in the healthcare field in Canada allows patients throughout the country to pick providers that they feel will best meet their needs without making them uncomfortable.
Disadvantages Of The Canadian Healthcare System:
There can be long wait times for the non-emergency procedures:
The wait time for various patients for their turns can be really long and frustrating in the case of the Canadian healthcare system. The wait times for specialist and non-emergency procedures can be considerably long.
According to a 2017 report, the median waiting time to see a specialist physician in Canada was approximately 21.2 weeks between the referral and treatment, which is more than a week longer than what it used to be a year before and is the longest-ever recorded time in the last 25 years of tracking the data.
Wait times are based majorly on geographic location, affecting it more than any other issue.
Patients in urban areas typically receive better health coverage:
Under the system of the Canadian System, which is available in the country, the revenues are further redistributed based on demographics. That means that if a person lives in a rural area, that person’s health services provider may not receive the required funding to cover the costs.
The facilities in rural areas are usually improved at a slower rate as well, which means that the person may be required to go to an urban area for care anyway. That has created a unique separation in the quality of life in rural Vs urban areas.
It tends to be reactive instead of proactive:
There is not always an effort to be proactive in the health and wellness of the Canada Healthcare system. Promotion and prevention activities are gradually increasing, yet it is based on what is provided within the narrow scope of things.
Many patients may not even be fully aware of what is actually available to them due to the overall lack of information that is present.
Government interventions mean there is politics in health decisions:
At the federal level, the territories and Canada are responsible for the policies and the processes of the care that is provided. Anyone can access these services, but those who are poor or live in urban areas use them the most.
People with enough wealth use private services at clinics where the time of waiting for or their turn tends to be pretty shorter.
That creates a system of care where the wealthy receive better care within a shorter period, pushing all socioeconomic groups to seek out their own political advantages to gain an extra foothold in the healthcare system.
The healthcare costs in Canada are often misrepresented:
The General government revenues tend to bankroll healthcare in the country. Since 2004, the cost of healthcare insurance has increased by 53%, which is much lower than the increase in income (34.7%) over that same period.
When purchasing goods or services in Canada, you are actually paying the taxes which help fund your healthcare. In some ways, if you do not use it, then you end up losing the money you would have spent otherwise.
These are some pros and cons of the Canadian healthcare system. Despite some of its flaws, it is still regarded as one of the premium healthcare in the world.
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