The healthcare systems between the United States and Canada feature vast differences due to the two countries’ varying political, economic, and social ideologies. The two countries’ healthcare systems differ in structures, patient experiences, expenditures, and outcomes. These variances result in differences in life expectancy, total mortality rates, costs of procedures done in the operating room, infant mortality rates, uninsured rates, citizens’ medical debt, and accessibility and quality of care/wait times.
Healthcare System Structures
Thomas and Sands (2023) assert that Canada has adopted Medicare, wherein the government serves as the sole insurer by providing coverage for all citizens, while the private healthcare system in the U.S. consists of many insurance providers, each having a different type of coverage plan, premiums payable, and benefits offered within this private sector. As a result, this leads to administrative issues as healthcare suppliers and patients need help with bill clearances and reimbursement charges. In contrast, the U.S. government offers programs like Medicare and Medicaid, covering some individuals, including older people and low-income people. At the same time, Canada’s single-payer system simplifies health care by epitomizing private insurers. Through the Canada Health Act, the government guarantees equal access to medically required services for all citizens, which facilitates internal issues, cuts overhead costs, and focuses on a user-friendly healthcare system.
Patient Experiences
In America, patients typically face higher out-of-pocket costs, including co-payments and deductibles, which serve as barricades, causing one to wait out or avoid going to the clinic, which affects their health status. However, in Canada, there is ‘universal access to medically necessary services without direct costs at the point of use” (Thomas & Sands, 2023) to the citizens, which leads to a higher distribution of healthcare services and decreases patients’ financial obstacles.
Healthcare Spending
According to Himmelstein et al. (2020), the United States has always been the highest health spender among the developed nations, spending over $11,000 per capita annually. This increased spending is due to the system’s complexities, the administrative overhead associated with managing several insurers, dependence on technological and pharmaceutical products, and intensive medical services that contribute significantly to the system’s spending. In contrast, Canada’s per capita spending is much lower, at $4,500 annually (Himmelstein et al., 2020), which primarily arises from the effectiveness of its single-payer system that ensures the government negotiates standardized fees for medical services and controls drug prices, resulting in manageable and affordable costs for patients and the healthcare systems.
Healthcare Outcomes
Life Expectancy: The life expectancy in the U.S. is relatively lower compared to Canada, with the U.S. life expectancy being around 78.8 years compared to 82 years in Canada. This disparity is attributed to lifestyle, social and economic factors, and differences in the availability of medical care.
Mortality Rates: The mortality rate in Canada, especially for treatable illnesses, is less in comparison to the United States. Higher mortality for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer are found in the U.S. Such inequality is attributed to access to healthcare and incidences of risk factors among various segments of the socio-demographic divide.
Procedure Costs: Americans spend outrageous amounts on basic doctor checks and severe surgery, a significant percentage of healthcare spending. In Canada, fee negotiation by the government ensures reasonable and predictable costs of medical services for patients and healthcare facilities.
Infant Mortality Rates: The U.S. infant mortality rate stands at a ratio of about 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, while Canada works with a rate of 4.3 deaths per 1,000 live births (Barco et al., 2021). These disparities result from pregnancy care, maternal health, and socioeconomic variables, highlighting the role of healthcare systems in determining maternal and child health outcomes.
Uninsured Rates: High levels of uninsurance show one of the most glaring differences between the two nations. Canada is almost a universal provider through its single-payer system, while the U.S. is about 9% uncovered (Wray et al., 2021). This leads to restrictions on access to vital healthcare services for many Americans, affecting overall health status.
Citizens’ Medical Debt: Medical debt pervades throughout the U.S. epidemic, causing millions of American citizens to struggle with enormous bills for their health services. Canadian citizens benefit from not having to pay for medical bills since the government provides these costs for fundamental health care services. The varying approaches carry over to the national financial outlook, demonstrating the influence that particular healthcare finance modes can have on a typical citizen’s household.
Ease of Access: The Canadian healthcare system guarantees fair access to medical services for all citizens, and no one is excluded from seeking medical help because of the imposed financial constraints. In the U.S., insurance coverage for health care is not guaranteed, which means health outcomes associated with socioeconomic standing are rarely equal in the country (Galvani et al., 2020). However, the Canadian approach focuses on equal rights for all and representation of the all-inclusive nature of the healthcare system.
Quality of Care/Wait Times: Though the United States boasts complex medical innovation and distinctly introduces the forefront of medical technology, waiting times for health programs like screening are long. For Canada, surgery waiting time is much lower due to the Canadian system’s approach of equitable access and timely intervention for prioritized urgent conditions, thus providing for the timely resolution of emergent healthcare needs.
Conclusion
There are distinct differences between the Canadian national healthcare system and that of the U.S. regarding structures, patient experience, spending, and outcomes. The U.S. has different approaches to increase life expectancy decrease mortality rates, among other healthcare factors, while the Canadian approach provides more beneficial overall health outcomes for the population. Therefore, the U.S. system is different from that of Canada because it has issues with accessibility, affordability, and inequality in health outcomes, pointing to persistent demand for healthcare reforms and innovations.
References
Thomas, D. M., & Sands, C. (Eds.). (2023). Canada and the United States: differences that count. University of Toronto Press.
Himmelstein, D. U., Campbell, T., & Woolhandler, S. (2020). Health care administrative costs in the United States and Canada, 2017. Annals of Internal Medicine, 172(2), 134-142.
Barco, S., Valerio, L., Ageno, W., Cohen, A. T., Goldhaber, S. Z., Hunt, B. J., & Konstantinides, S. V. (2021). Age-sex specific pulmonary embolism-related mortality in the USA and Canada, 2000–18: an analysis of the WHO Mortality Database and of the CDC Multiple Cause of Death database. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 9(1), 33-42.
Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T. G., Engel, L. S., & Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians*. (2020). Envisioning a better U.S. health care system for all: coverage and cost of care. Annals of internal medicine, 172(2_Supplement), S7-S32.
Wray, C. M., Khare, M., & Keyhani, S. (2021). Access to care, cost of care, and satisfaction with care among adults with private and public health insurance in the U.S. JAMA Network Open, 4(6), e2110275-e2110275.
Galvani, A. P., Parpia, A. S., Foster, E. M., Singer, B. H., & Fitzpatrick, M. C. (2020). Improving the prognosis of health care in the USA. The Lancet, 395(10223), 524-533.
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