Understanding Canada's Health Care System, And Why It's Not Free

This thread is meant to be an analytical look at how the Canadian Health Care System works. Not as a positive or negative opinion, but just as a source of information.

Ever since ObamaCare made it onto the scenes here at ATS there's been extreme caution, and rightful rejection of free health care in America. We've seen a number of threads over the past few years that doesn't paint ObamaCare in the purest of light, and a lot of negativity has seeped into the view of Free Health Care systems (at least, in the US).

Well, if designed correctly, Free Health Care can be an incredible thing, and save hundreds of thousands of lives, and millions more for the debt it can prevent.

I just came from another topic where Canada's Health Care Plan came into the discussion, and it seems that even Canadians aren't totally sure about the fine-points of our (Canada) own Health Care Plan.

I shouldn't have to state the obvious, but in order for there to be a Free Health Care System, Taxes have to be paid.

There's that terrifying word again!

Now, with Canada's Health Care Plan, isn't a single collective health care tax, nor is the payment from one single source either; funding for the system comes from multiple sources, including income taxes, the Canadian Pension Plan, and Employment Insurance. So, unlike many other universal health care countries, there is absolutely no form of deductibles or co-payments or co-insurance when we receive health care. It almost becomes this 'invisible tax' that we just don't really see unless we are trying to find it.

So, what does this cover? Not everything is paid for by this system. The Canada Health Act provides free essential basic care, including maternity, but it does not cover prescription drugs, home care or long-term care, prescription glasses or dental care, which means most Canadians pay out-of-pocket for these services or rely on private insurance.

To further the confusion more, the Canada's Health Care Plan actually varies from province to province, so specific things may be paid for by the government in some places, but not others. For instance, if you're under Quebec's health care plan fertility treatments are covered, almost all other provinces do not have this. The same could be said for all other provinces and specifications such as that, but, all the essential health care needs are paid for through the plan throughout the country.

What's really odd is that out of all the Universal Health Care systems throughout the world, Canada is the only country with a universal healthcare system that does not include coverage of prescription medication. (Although, some provinces do pay for prescription medication for the elderly or indigent)

The taxation of the citizens fluctuates like other taxes, for instance high-income earners must pay more than low-income earners. According to a report and analysis by the Fraser Institute Canada’s poorest families pay $477 a year for health care, while the wealthiest earners pay $59,666 a year.

The Cost of healthcare in Canada also isn't Static, it increases with inflation just like anything else. The same report by the Fraser Institute recorded that the current rate of inflation is 1.6 times the rate of the average Canadian income.

What does the average Canadian family pay for our Health Care System? $11,735 annually, spread out through various different taxed sources.


References:
~ True cost of health care to average family is $11K per year: report
~ Health care in Canada costs a typical Canadian family more than $11,000
~ Public vs. private health care CBC, December 1, 2006.
~ Five things Canadians get wrong about the health system
~ Exploring the 70/30 Split: How Canadaís Health Care System Is Financed
~ Canada's health-drug-coverage
~ Does your province cover the cost of infertility treatments?

I honestly think that Obamacare was put in place not only to line the pockets of big pharma, but also to quell any major support for any future iteration of universal healthcare.

They did this by labeling it "socialism" in the MSM, and universal healthcare is a socialist policy, thus linking Obamacare with universal healthcare. It is not universal healthcare, it is an extremely poor example if it can even be called an example at all.

Those people in Washington and on Wall Street are pretty crafty, they've suckered people into believing Obamacare is universal healthcare when it is nothing like it in reality.

People are so gullible it's ridiculous.

what is someone doesn't earn anything, ya know the disabled, ect?

personally, I think weather or not someone would think this is a good plan would depend on what their state of health is now. I think many in the states who sit and claim we had such a great system (I say had, because there's so many who think obamacare stinks) is because they were young, healthy, and well, never experienced the cost of a major illness or injury. If the person is young and healthy, and never goes to the doctor, well, canada's plan is crap, after all they should be able to skate through without having to pay anything since they never need the health care. But well, all it would take is one one illness, or one injury to slam them with a ton of bills and then I imagine they would change their tune.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

NO, it was put in place to create an untenable condition. They want us to scream for single payer because they knew not enough people would accept it from them then.

We have to remember it was them who screwed us with Obamacare.

Never forget that it was the government who created this mess. You can try to blame the insurance companies all you want, but without government rewriting the system, they wouldn't be doing all they are now.

a reply to: dawnstar

Actually, I have been chronically ill for almost as long as I can remember, and while our system wasn't great before, it was far more affordable than it is now.

I have been on forums for others of my illness and systems like Canada's and those in Europe are not good for people like me. We have trouble getting referrals to competent specialists and getting ER treatment for runaway attacks when our GPs cannot adequately treat us as so many cannot. We also have trouble gaining timely access to care. Also, those systems do not adequately address the individualized nature of our illnesses with a wide enough range of potential treatments and medications, preferring instead to force us into narrow ranges of treatment options whether they work or not for the sake of affordability.

In short, I fear socialized, single payer because it means I could very well lose all of the gains I've made in regaining my health and be reduced to a cringing ball of pain permanently confined to a darkened room.

a reply to: ketsuko

Without the insurance companies paying them to write this bill, the bill would not have been written at all. The blame lies on both those who paid money to screw us over as well as the ones who accepted the bribe.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
I honestly think that Obamacare was put in place not only to line the pockets of big pharma, but also to quell any major support for any future iteration of universal healthcare.

Yes, I agree entirely. Obamacare seems like a sham.

a reply to: Ghost147

There's no doubt about it, the UK's universal healthcare system is for more superior to Canada's.

But from what I understand Brits and Aussies also don't pay any kind of premiums or co-pays either... Actually, I was unaware of other national healthcare countries that have to pay co-pays/premiums ?

As far as I understand their healthcare also comes from various forms of general taxation as well.

Maybe someone from another country could correct me on that ?

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Not remotely, the way it was constructed was to make the entire bill a bribe to the insurance companies in order to buy their compliance and silence by guaranteeing them a massive customer base.

The way the bill is constructed, all the companies who stay in are doomed to failure. Even those who are outside are doomed because of the way the regulatory and legal structure is made out. The CEOs are frontloading all they can get now, but the insurance companies are failing. Haven't you noticed how many are pulling out of the exchanges and merging with each other to become even larger? Those are bids for survival, not something healthy businesses just up and do.

a reply to: ketsuko

And you don't think those companies wanted to become monopolies? The more they merge, the less competition they have, the less competition they have the more money they can make off of us. Look at the regional monopolies that Comcast has, they bought and merged with other companies to take control of certain areas of the country so that no one has any alternatives and they can charge people however much they want. It's no different with the insurance companies, the less competition they have, the more they can screw us over.

America's yearly healthcare expenditure is over double the GDP of Canada -

originally posted by: dawnstar
what is someone doesn't earn anything, ya know the disabled, ect?

Then they don't get taxed. Children would be another example of persons who aren't taxed in this manner.

Canada`s healthcare system is funded predominately through the public, with 70% of healthcare funding coming from the public-sector and the remaining 30% from the private-sector. So it's not much of a loss if someone isn't able to work.

a reply to: Ghost147

But those disabled people didn't earn their healthcare, they don't deserve to get proper medical treatment.

/sarcasm

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: Ghost147

There's no doubt about it, the UK's universal healthcare system is for more superior to Canada's.

What's interesting is that Canada's Health Care organization is ranked 30th out of all the worlds countries (link)

Above canada is (in order from top best to 29th:

~ France
~ Italy
~ San Marino
~ Andora
~ Malta
~ Singapore
~ Spain
~ Oman
~ Austria
~ Japan
~ Norway
~ Portugal
~ Monaco
~ Greece
~ Isceland
~ Luxembourg
~ Netherlands
~ United Kingdom
~ Ireland
~ Switzerland
~ Belgium
~ Colombia
~ Sweden
~ Cyprus
~ Germany
~ Saudi Arabia
~ United Arab Emirates
~ Israel
~ Morocco
~ Canada

a reply to: ketsuko

I agree that obamacare is a fascist piece of crap....

I could very well lose all of the gains I've made in regaining my health and be reduced to a cringing ball of pain permanently confined to a darkened room.

kind of sounds like me..... went through years of the gov't stating that we made plenty and could afford the healthcare, whilie hubby said we couldn't (and WE COULDN'T), while watching my ability to walk go down the drain, and listening to the gov't whine year after year about how all these taxes had to be raised so they could cover the medicaid bills...

at least if we were in canada at that time, we would have been getting something for all that tax money they sucked out of us (to pay for medicaid)... obamacare only made that worse....
now, you still have to pay all that taxmoney (and will probably hear about tax increases being needed to help cover the cost of medicaid) but you are also paying fines, or force to get an overpriced insurance policy, with high deductables....
which well if you add the cost of that insurance policy along with the high deductable, i bet the average person would not rack up enough in medical bills to cover it!!!

and still, there are people paying into the system who are out of luck when they get sick... so what the heck...

originally posted by: Ghost147

originally posted by: CranialSponge
a reply to: Ghost147

There's no doubt about it, the UK's universal healthcare system is for more superior to Canada's.

What's interesting is that Canada's Health Care organization is ranked 30th out of all the worlds countries (link)

Above canada is (in order from top best to 29th:

~ France
~ Italy
~ San Marino
~ Andora
~ Malta
~ Singapore
~ Spain
~ Oman
~ Austria
~ Japan
~ Norway
~ Portugal
~ Monaco
~ Greece
~ Isceland
~ Luxembourg
~ Netherlands
~ United Kingdom
~ Ireland
~ Switzerland
~ Belgium
~ Colombia
~ Sweden
~ Cyprus
~ Germany
~ Saudi Arabia
~ United Arab Emirates
~ Israel
~ Morocco
~ Canada

Pretty pathetic, isn't it ?!

And yet here we are, paying just as much taxes as any of those countries.

I love our UHC and can't imagine life without it, but it pisses me off that we don't have as good of coverage as other UHC countries... there's no reason why we shouldn't.

I've rigged the direct deposit system at work to route my checks directly to the White House bank account. Saves me a lot of trouble from January-April.
Honestly, it surprises me how little people understand taxes. A lot of the people I've seen making arguments against Obamacare inadvertently sing the praises of free healthcare systems in other parts of the world without fully understanding what they entail. Someone has actually looked into my eyes and said the words, "Canada funds it without using taxes!" Buhhhh

a reply to: lindscity

It took you 3 years to make your first post? That must be some type of record.

Sorry for going off-topic, OP.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
a reply to: Ghost147

But those disabled people didn't earn their healthcare, they don't deserve to get proper medical treatment.

/sarcasm

Guess we should just go out and shoot ????????????
/sarcasm

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Long time lurker... first time login-er.
(Also sorry to the OP.)