Health Affairs’ article comparing the health status of Americans and Canadians doesn’t break new ground nor shatter any perceptions, at least not any perceptions held by informed folks. Tops among the popular misconceptions about the Canadian health care system is the old saw that people have to wait forever for care, with the unstated resulting negative impact on health.
Well, 11% of Canadians do think they have unmet medical needs, primarily because they have to wait too long for care in some instances. In contrast, 13% of Americans have unmet needs, primarily due to cost.
A few more factoids to ponder –
–Most respondents in both countries are in good very good or excellent health, although a few more Canadians enjoy this status (88% v US’ 85%)
–31% of the poorest Americans considered themselves to be in fair or poor health compared to 23% of Canadians.
–Canadians and Americans exhibited similar results regarding access to physician services.
The statistics come from the Joint Canada/US Survey of Health, a joint effort of the National Center for Helath Statistics in the US and Canada’s Statistics Canada; sample sizes are large and the methodology robust.
When one considers that we Americans are paying 50% more for health care than our northern neighbors, it’s hard to see what we get for our dollars.
Jul
24
I would be interested to learn more about how Canada deals with end of life care, especially when the outlook is basically hopeless. Do they have more widespread use of living wills among their population? Do they engage in systematic rationing via QALY metrics like the UK does? Do they refuse to make kidney dialysis or certain surgical procedures available to people beyond a certain age? If they do any or all of these, how much of the difference in health spending as a percentage of GDP is attributable to the difference in approach to end of life care?
Second, how much of the cost difference is attributable to lower spending on administrative costs and lower salaries for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers?
excellent questions, and ones you may be able to find answers to through research. If any readers can assist, feel free to do so. The second set of questions has probably been studied and reported; if/when you obtain the information feel free to send it on
Come on, everyone knows the answer to that question – shorter waiting times ;-)
As a Canadian, I cannot give you all the data that you want. But I can share some stories.
A couple of years ago, my dad had surgery when he broke his hip. He was 95 yeas old. The surgery and hospital stay cost him nothing, nor did the in-hospital physio-thereapy.
Governments are working hard at reducing waiting times for important care. The biggest problems we face up here — reflected in longer waiting times — is a shortage of hurses — for wards, for surgery, for long-term care.