Health Care In Canada Essay

With all the focus our country has recently put on Healthcare I thought is necessary to look at a country which has used a Universal Health care model to understand where we as a country are heading and why so many people are opposed to it. For years I have heard that Japanese healthcare was one of the best in the world and known of people who would travel to Japan to receive treatment. Japan has been at the forefront of technology and it seems that the use of that technology has helped them advance in Health Care as well. In comparing both Japanese and American Health Care Systems I am hoping to find if Japanese Health Care is better than our American Health Care System.

Under this system individual citizens are provided preventative care and medical treatments from primary care physicians as well as access to hospitals, dental surgery and additional medical services. With few exceptions, all citizens qualify for health coverage regardless of medical history, personal income, or standard of living. (Canadian Health Care, 2004-2007) These insurance plans are provincial or territorial and are financed by both the federal and the provincial authorities. Provinces are similar to states in the US, and Canada has 10 provinces, which are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan. From about 1940 to 1950 the American government stepped in and encouraged employers to offer health insurance as a part of employee compensation packages which in turn the supply of health insurance increased as more and more commercial insurance companies entered the market and the use of healthcare increased as medical technology became more sophisticated.

As the United States continues make improvements to its national health care system, it is important to look to the health care policies of other countries. We can learn a lot from noting what is working in regards to foreign health

Canada has a system that consists of socialized health insurance plans that provide coverage to all its citizens. Canada health care is largely government-funded, with most services provided by private enterprises with some publicly funds all, which is controlled and administered, within guidelines set by the federal government ("Healthy Canadians: A Federal report on Comparable Health Indicators ", 2009).

     In the past, Canada’s government-funded, universally accessible, health care system has been praised and admired both at home and abroad as one of the finest in the world. A great source of pride and comfort for many Canadians is that it is based on five fundamental principles. Principles that are a reflection of the values held by Canadian citizens since the formation of Medicare in 1966. These principles were reinforced in the Canada Health Act, (CHA), of 1984 and state that the Canadian system is universal, accessible, portable, comprehensive and non-profit.

The Canadian health care system has many flaws and issues because of the many systems within it. Canada has fifteen different health care systems, these fifteen include thirteen provincial/territorial systems, a system for Aboriginals, and a system for veterans. Coincidentally because there is so many systems doctors work hours, location, and fees are different across the country. Many doctors charge extra fees for services such as pill refills and Pick the hours they work. Not only are things different with doctors from province to province but so are the services covered. The coverage of services such as eye, dental, and abortion services are not the same everywhere (O'Grady, Kathleen and Noralou, Roos). Issues with coverage and doctors are

In another hand, Canada offer Health Care services totally free for any citizen without problem. Everyone is covered automatically at the moment of birth. The Canadian Health care program offer not limit in services, it offer to everyone and you keep for lifetime. This give to the Canadian, the freedom to select any doctor and any hospital. It is why the level of death is lower, in comparison with the United State when come to this matter.

The health care system varies from country to country although a factor they all have in common is that great measures of research are taken in order to find results and achieve a good health care system for the economy. Between Australia and japan, there are great initiatives taken to help in association to this, including economic, social and political circumstances, all influencing the way in which the countries health care system is shaped and run.

Canada’s health care system “can be described as a publicly-funded, privately-provided, universal, comprehensive, affordable, single-payer, provincially administered national health care system” (Bernard, 1992, p.103). Health care in Canada is provincial responsibility, with the Canada Health act being a federal legislation (Bernard, 1992, p. 102). Federal budget cuts, has caused various problems within Medicare such as increased waiting times and lack of new technology. Another problem with Medicare is that The Canada Heath Act does not cover expenditures for prescriptions drugs. All these issue has caused individuals to suggest making Medicare privatized. Although, Canada’s health care system consists of shortcomings, our universal

Canada 's health care system is a group of socialized health insurance plans that provides coverage to all Canadian citizens. It is publicly funded and administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. Under the health care system, individual citizens are provided preventative care and medical treatments from primary care physicians as well as access to hospitals, dental surgery and additional medical services. With a few exceptions, all citizens qualify for health coverage regardless of medical history, personal income, or standard of living. In addition to public health care providers such as primary care doctors and hospitals, many private clinics offering specialized services also operate in Canada.

While many may argue that the Canadian health care system provides equal treatment to every Canadian, evidence shows that this is not the case. There are major discrepancies within the system regarding Indigenous people that need to be addressed including several factors such as: housing issues, stereotypes Aboriginals face and the lack of Aboriginal doctors.

When asked to describe what makes Canada unique compared to other countries, many outsiders might yell out “Hockey!” “Cold Weather!” or “Free Health Care!.” Health care is definitely one of Canada’s most noticeable trademarks when compared to the United States, but the reality is that our health care services are not what they are made out to be. Canadians tend to take pride in the fact that they have a Government funded health care system, but the system is failing at a rapid pace. One can gage the quality of health care in our country while at the emergency ward in any hospital, where most Canadians realize its downsides. The Government spends most of its budget towards health care but Canadians are not feeling an improvement. Waiting

In America confidence in the health care system diminishes with aging. Americans believe that as they grow older, health care will be unaffordable to them. Seniors especially believe that once they depend on fixed budgets, that the American government will selectively rid them of attaining affordable health care. Just being able to afford their prescription drugs will be a situation where seniors will have to choose between food or medicine because of their decrease in household incomes. The one feature that is most effective in providing comprehensive health care in Canada is the participation of the government where citizens are completely covered for their health insurance. The best feature of health insurance in America is group health insurance. Group coverage normally offers the best benefits at a lower rate. The least effective feature of American health care is the cost of medical prescriptions and extended times of waiting to see the physicians. The least effective feature of Canada's medical health care system is also the lengthy time of waiting to see the physicians. Since most private health insurance companies in the US tell you which doctors to visit, specify which hospitals you may enter, this could be a deterrent to your treatment. In Canada this is not the case, if you are ill you may go to any hospital regardless of financial means or insurance coverage and get treated. Canadians and Americans found that increasing health care

In Japan it seems as if the doctors have a closer relationship with their patients mainly because the patients’ g o to the doctor three times more than Americans and the doctors’ still make house calls. Japan has always had extraordinary health statistics, mainly because the have a healthier diet and lifestyle.

Is it possible for two countries which are thousands of kilometers away from each other to have some similarities in their health care system? Health care system is one of the most important and fundamental sectors in any country or region all around the world. Many countries pour a major amount of their overall income to support the health care system. And the main reason behind this tremendous effort provided by the countries all around the world for the health care system is that each country wants to provide a good and high standard health care services for all the population occupying the land whether they were local citizens or Non- local citizens . This essay will compare and contrast the health care system in two wonderful countries: