Global InformationHealthcare in Canada information
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Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare.[1][2] It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984,[3] and is universal.[4]: 81 The 2002 Royal Commission, known as the Romanow Report, revealed that Canadians consider universal access to publicly funded health services as a "fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country."[5][6]
Canadian Medicare provides coverage for approximately 70 percent of Canadians' healthcare needs, and the remaining 30 percent is paid for through the private sector.[7][8] The 30 percent typically relates to services not covered or only partially covered by Medicare, such as prescription drugs, eye care, medical devices, gender care, psychotherapy, physical therapy and dentistry.[7][8] About 65-75 percent of Canadians have some form of supplementary health insurance related to the aforementioned reasons; many receive it through their employers or use secondary social service programs related to extended coverage for families receiving social assistance or vulnerable demographics, such as seniors, minors, and those with disabilities.[9]
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), by 2019, Canada's aging population represents an increase in healthcare costs of approximately one percent a year, which is a modest increase.[7] In a 2020 Statistics Canada Canadian Perspectives Survey Series (CPSS), 69 percent of Canadians self-reported that they had excellent or very good physical health—an improvement from 60 percent in 2018.[10] In 2019, 80 percent of Canadian adults self-reported having at least one major risk factor for chronic disease: smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating or excessive alcohol use.[11] Canada has one of the highest rates of adult obesity among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries attributing to approximately 2.7 million cases of diabetes (types 1 and 2 combined).[11] Four chronic diseases—cancer (a leading cause of death), cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes account for 65 percent of deaths in Canada.[11]
In 2021, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that healthcare spending reached $308 billion, or 12.7 percent of Canada's GDP for that year.[12] In 2022 Canada's per-capita spending on health expenditures ranked 12th among health-care systems in the OECD.[13] Canada has performed close to the average on the majority of OECD health indicators since the early 2000s,[14] and ranks above average for access to care, but the number of doctors and hospital beds are considerably below the OECD average.[15] The Commonwealth Funds 2021 report comparing the healthcare systems of the 11 most developed countries ranked Canada second-to-last.[16] Identified weaknesses of Canada's system were comparatively higher infant mortality rate, the prevalence of chronic conditions, long wait times, poor availability of after-hours care, and a lack of prescription drugs coverage.[17] An increasing problem in Canada's health system is a shortage of healthcare professionals and hospital capacity.[18][19]
- ^ Karina Aase; Justin Waring; Lene Schibevaag (2017). Researching Quality in Care Transitions: International Perspectives. Springer. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-3-319-62346-7.
- ^ "Public vs. private health care". CBC News. December 1, 2006.
- ^ Monique Bégin (1988). Medicare: Canada's Right to Health. Optimum Pub. International. p. Intro. ISBN 978-0-88890-219-1.
- ^ Peggy Leatt; Joseph Mapa (2003). Government Relations in the Health Care Industry. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-56720-513-8.
- ^ Romanow, Roy J. (November 28, 2002). Building on values: the future of health care in Canada (PDF). Government of Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (Report). Saskatoon. p. 392. ISBN 0-662-33043-9. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "Recommendations for Reform". The Health of Canadians – The Federal Role. 17.2 Universality: Parliament of Canada. October 2002. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
CIHI_2019was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
CIHI_2005was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kliff, Sarah (July 1, 2017). "Everything you ever wanted to know about Canadian health care in one post". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ Findlay, Leanne; Arim, Rubab (April 24, 2020). Canadians report lower self-perceived mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics Canada, Government of Canada (Report). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ a b c David Gregory; Tracey Stephens; Christy Raymond-Seniuk; Linda Patrick (2019). Fundamentals: Perspectives on the Art and Science of Canadian Nursing. Wolters Kluwer Health. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-4963-9850-5.
- ^ "National Health Expenditure Trends". Canadian Institute for Health Information. 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
OECD-barchartswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Health at a Glance 2017" (PDF). OECD Publishing. 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
OECD_2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Schneider, Eric C.; Shah, Arnav; Doty, Michelle M.; Roosa Tikkanen; Fields, Katharine; Williams II, Reginald D. (August 4, 2021). "Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly". www.commonwealthfund.org. doi:10.26099/01dv-h208.
- ^ A PRESCRIPTION FOR CANADA: ACHIEVING PHARMACARE FOR ALL (Government of Canada report, retrieved 2023)
- ^ Duong, Diana; Vogel, Lauren (February 26, 2023). "Overworked health workers are "past the point of exhaustion"". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 195 (8). CMA Impact Inc.: E309–E310. doi:10.1503/cmaj.1096042. ISSN 0820-3946. PMC 9970629. PMID 36849179.
- ^ "Taking the pulse: A snapshot of Canadian health care, 2023". Canadian Institute for Health Information. August 2, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2024.