Page 69 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 69
p. mclaren ■ from a city on the hill to the dungheap of history
more cost-effective. I am not pleased that Canada is the only country with
a universal healthcare system that does not include coverage of prescrip-
tion medication although some medications are covered by public funds
(or through employment-based private insurance) in some provinces for
senior citizens and those with disabilities. Drugs tend to be cheaper in
Canada since the federal government negotiates drug prices with pharma-
ceutical companies. There is a lot of disinformation put out about health-
care in Canada by the Republicans, and I’m frequently criticized because
I have always supported a single payer system. In Canada the quality of
medical care is maintained by federal oversight but it’s not part of the arm
of the surveillance state, since the government doesn’t collect any infor-
mation about patients’ health, that’s strictly confidential information be-
tween the patient and his or her physician. Private health expenditure ac-
counts for 30% of health care financing. Not enough coverage is given,
in my mind, to mental health care. That said, the most essential care is
covered—what would be considered non-essential would be, for instance,
cosmetic surgery and some forms of elective surgery. What is good about
this Canadian plan is that health coverage is not affected by loss or change
of jobs, and there are no lifetime limits or exclusions for pre-existing con-
ditions. I support Canada’s publicly funded system, although I recognize
that different provinces may differ as what is considered essential or basic
care. So, as I mentioned, you do seem some variation across the provinc-
es. In the USA, 13.6 per cent of GNP is used on medical care. By contrast,
in Canada, only 9.5 per cent of GNP is used on the medicare system, be-
cause there is no profit incentive for private insurers. In addition, there are
no means tests and no bad-debt problems for doctors under the Canadi-
an system, Billing and collection costs for doctors are extremely low. Olga
Kahzan did an article in The Atlantic a few years ago, that did a compari-
son of the U.S. and Canadian systems.
She reported that the Commonwealth Fund released a ranking of
healthcare systems in 11 developed countries, and while Canada’s system
(it ranked 10th out of the 11 systems) did not fare as well as other coun-
tries, such as Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zea-
land, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, the U.S.
ranked 11th, dead last, in measures, of access, efficiency and equity, even
though it is the world’s most expensive healthcare system. According to
a report released by the Commonwealth Fund, if Americans had Cana-
da’s healthcare, 57 million fewer people would go without medical care
because of the cost (although at the time of this report The Affordable
Care Act was not fully implemented). Approximately 5,400 fewer ba-
67
more cost-effective. I am not pleased that Canada is the only country with
a universal healthcare system that does not include coverage of prescrip-
tion medication although some medications are covered by public funds
(or through employment-based private insurance) in some provinces for
senior citizens and those with disabilities. Drugs tend to be cheaper in
Canada since the federal government negotiates drug prices with pharma-
ceutical companies. There is a lot of disinformation put out about health-
care in Canada by the Republicans, and I’m frequently criticized because
I have always supported a single payer system. In Canada the quality of
medical care is maintained by federal oversight but it’s not part of the arm
of the surveillance state, since the government doesn’t collect any infor-
mation about patients’ health, that’s strictly confidential information be-
tween the patient and his or her physician. Private health expenditure ac-
counts for 30% of health care financing. Not enough coverage is given,
in my mind, to mental health care. That said, the most essential care is
covered—what would be considered non-essential would be, for instance,
cosmetic surgery and some forms of elective surgery. What is good about
this Canadian plan is that health coverage is not affected by loss or change
of jobs, and there are no lifetime limits or exclusions for pre-existing con-
ditions. I support Canada’s publicly funded system, although I recognize
that different provinces may differ as what is considered essential or basic
care. So, as I mentioned, you do seem some variation across the provinc-
es. In the USA, 13.6 per cent of GNP is used on medical care. By contrast,
in Canada, only 9.5 per cent of GNP is used on the medicare system, be-
cause there is no profit incentive for private insurers. In addition, there are
no means tests and no bad-debt problems for doctors under the Canadi-
an system, Billing and collection costs for doctors are extremely low. Olga
Kahzan did an article in The Atlantic a few years ago, that did a compari-
son of the U.S. and Canadian systems.
She reported that the Commonwealth Fund released a ranking of
healthcare systems in 11 developed countries, and while Canada’s system
(it ranked 10th out of the 11 systems) did not fare as well as other coun-
tries, such as Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zea-
land, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, the U.S.
ranked 11th, dead last, in measures, of access, efficiency and equity, even
though it is the world’s most expensive healthcare system. According to
a report released by the Commonwealth Fund, if Americans had Cana-
da’s healthcare, 57 million fewer people would go without medical care
because of the cost (although at the time of this report The Affordable
Care Act was not fully implemented). Approximately 5,400 fewer ba-
67
