Canada's Health Care System: Dissed in America

I touched on some of the differences between Canadian and American health care in my last post. Here is a recent press release from the Health Council of Canada also addressing the issue. It highlights some interesting facts on per capita spending on health care in the two countries. There are also some links in the release to the Health Council of Canada's discussion boards that are worth checking out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Canada’s Health Care System:
Dissed in America

TORONTO (April 6, 2009) – When U.S. President Barack Obama recently announced his intention to create a public health care system that would be accessible and affordable for all Americans, he touched off a firestorm of criticism with some south of the border saying Canadian-style health care is not the way to go.

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% 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,” notes John Abbott, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Council of Canada. The Council 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.

– 30 –

Pierre Lachaine
Health Council of Canada
Phone : 416-480-7085
plachaine@healthcouncilcanada.ca

Jaclyn Clare or Rachel Sa
PR POST
Phone: 416-777-0368
jaclyn@prpost.ca

About the Health Council of Canada

Created by the 2003 First Ministers’ Accord on Health Care Renewal, The Health Council of Canada is mandated to monitor and report on the progress of health care renewal in Canada. Councillors were appointed by the participating provinces, territories and the Government of Canada.

And now for something completely different...

This post isn’t specifically related to health human resources but I just had to bring it to attention, mostly for its comedic value. I was surfing some of the health blogs this morning and came across this post on Dr. Wes’ blog. Hilarious. A colonoscopy contest? Is this for real? Apparently so. Here is a link to the contest, sponsored by CBS and supported by the National Cancer Institute.

A lot of ink has been spilled about the differences between Canadian and American health care. Debating the merits and faults of either isn’t something I’m going to get into here. But nothing strikes me as more indicative of that difference than a sweepstakes contest offering free health care. Then again, a certain Halifax radio station had a contest a few years ago offering free plastic surgery (let’s just say, to ‘enhance’ certain assets) to the lucky winner. So, I guess crass reality show-style promotional events aren’t restricted to American-style health care. It’s funny, it’s weird. What do you think?

To give this post a bit of context and draw attention to the real issue here, I’d like to highlight a few facts (from the PEI Ministry of Health Annual Report 2006-2007 and the Health Canada website):

• Colorectal cancer (which the colonoscopy screens for) is one of the most common forms of cancer (including lung, prostate and breast cancers) affecting Canadians, with an incidence rate of 62 men and 41.1 women per 100,000 population in 2006.
• Incidence rates for colorectal cancer were higher for PEI than the rest of Canada (64.9 men and 52 women per 100,000 population). They were also higher for lung, prostate and breast cancer.
• Mortality rates for colorectal cancer were higher in PEI (31 men and 22 women per 100,000 population in PEI versus 27 men and 17 women in Canada). They were also higher for lung, prostate and breast cancer.
• Risk factors for colorectal cancer include age (over 70 most at risk), heredity, diet (high in red meat and low in vegetables may increase risk), weight, alcohol consumption and smoking.
• Colonoscopy is one of a number of screening techniques and is considered to be the most thorough screening technique.

It is somewhat disconcerting that the PEI incidence rates for colorectal and other cancers are higher than the Canadian average. There are likely many reasons for this – could human resources be one of them? Availability of human resources must certainly have an effect on mortality rates from these cancers. A 2006 article in the Montreal Gazette suggests that a lack of specialists and equipment in Québec is to blame for year-long wait lists for colonoscopies in that province, prompting many to pay for the procedure in one of Montreal’s many private clinics. Still, I don’t think we’ll see anything as bizarre and ‘un-Canadian’ as the CBS/National Cancer Institute colonoscopy contest on this side of the border anytime soon.

I believe it is also important for all of us to stay on top of managing our own health by living a healthy lifestyle and communicating with our physicians, pharmacists and other health care providers. It is always best to identify issues early.

Cheers,
Mark