Canada's health-care system: ‘Dissed’ in America

The critics say that Canada has long wait times, inadequate access to diagnostic equipment, and a shortage of specialists, making our health care system a poor example to emulate.

Some of the criticisms about the Canadian system heard in the U.S. include:

Canadians (have) to wait more than a year to get hip replacements, with some patients ending up addicted to pain killers due to the long wait. We Americans will never put up with a system like that.

Health-care reform analysed at United Way Meeting. Bill Corley, Indianapolis Star

Routine care in Canada is pretty good - just hope you aren't really sick or have a chronic condition.

Canada isn't Utopia. Howard Wilkin, Desert News

Are these criticisms accurate?

Canada's publicly-funded system is founded on the principle of universality, meaning that everyone is entitled to the same services regardless of their ability to pay. Last year, we spent $172 billion on our system. On a per capita basis, we spend 48 per cent less than in the United States, where health care is not universal and some 47 million people do not have health care coverage.

Canadians live longer than Americans and appear to have similar or better health outcomes in most aspects of healthcare. Despite the significant amount of money Americans are spending, are they getting value for their money?

Are Canadians and Americans getting value for the money we spend on our health care systems? What do you think?

We want to hear what Canadians are saying about these issues. The Health Council of Canada recently launched www.CanadaValuesHealth.ca for exactly this kind of discussion.

It's time for Canadians to speak up on such questions as:

• What do we value about our publicly-funded system? Are there ways to improve and build upon what we have? What constructive new ideas and suggestions can we come up with?

• Can we make our dollars go further? Can we get a bigger bang for our buck?

Where can we improve our system to get better value?

• Can we sustain the system without having to spend billions more?

• What can the United States learn from our experiences with universal coverage?

Visitors to www.CanadaValuesHealth.ca can join in this important discussion, watch videos, listen to podcasts, read what other people are saying, and more.

<@Rbi>— John Abbott is the chief executive officer of the Health Council of Canada.<@$Pp>