Healthcare in Canada

Canada is one of our country’s nearest neighbors. It seems similar to

America in many aspects. It is a first-world, democratic, industrialized society.

Yet there are many differences; some readily evident, and others too subtle to

see at first glance. Canada has its own forms of culture and government, and its

social classes aren’t divided in quite the same way. America’s second language

is Spanish, while many Canadians speak French. There is also another area that

differs greatly from the United States, and that is the Canadian health care

system.

To understand Canada’s healthcare system, it should be compared to the

system that is currently in place in America. The average American spends

about $7,900 per year on health care, but often does not get their money’s worth.

30% of people in America live from paycheck to paycheck, just trying to scrape

by (Eley). Many of these “working poor” have no health insurance, and bypass

the hospital whenever possible to avoid expensive bills. Such a person can go to

the emergency room with a heart attack and receive immediate treatment, but

they are sent home sooner than they should be because they can not pay. The

system in America is sometimes called a “sick-care system”, because it only

provides emergency, not preventive, care to the poor. Even though many

Americans from a higher social class accept this startling disparity, it does not
have to be that way. Some countries, like Canada, have a completely different

approach to this major issue.

Unlike America, Canada has socialized healthcare. Everyone has an

equal opportunity to get treatment, and there isn't as much disparity between the

care that people from different social classes receive. Uninsured patients aren’t

thrown out of the hospital early, unlike in many American hospitals. Almost every

major country except the United States has some form of socialized medicine.

(Brochu). And the effect this system has is startling. The average life expectancy

in Canada is 81 years, compared to 78 in the United States. “Nations with

universally accessible health care always have longer life expectancies.” says

Margaret Penning, a sociologist at the University of Victoria (Gulli). Canada

spends less money on its healthcare system than America does, but manages to

give its people a higher quality of life.

Even though the Canadian health system is more efficient, America is

beginning to close the gap. A new healthcare bill passed in Congress promises

to expand insurance coverage to 32 million Americans who currently don’t have

health insurance. It will also lower the cost of medical services and prescription

drugs. Starting in 2014, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage

to anyone with preexisting conditions (Jackson, Nolan). The plan will cost around

$940 billion to implement over ten years, but the security it will provide to people

is worth spending the money. By 2014, everyone will have to purchase health
insurance or face a $695 annual fine, but there will be exceptions for low-income

people. (Jackson, Nolan). This should encourage more people to buy health

insurance, and the plan itself will make it easier to do so. America is moving

forward, but for now Canada is still in the lead.

Canada has its own distinct approach to medicine and healthcare in

general. This country in the Great White North has a completely different system

in place, but it is by no means unusual or unexpected. Many countries have

socialized healthcare, and America itself is moving in that direction. Socialized

healthcare improves the equality of medicine for people of different social

classes, and often focuses on wellness rather than just “sick care”. No nation has

landed on an ideal plan, but Canada’s healthcare system is doing just fine.
 Works Cited:

"Canada." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 26 Sept. 2010.

Eley, Tom. "“Working Poor” report: Nearly 30 percent of US families subsist on poverty

wages ." World Socialist Web Site. International Committee of the Fourth

International , 16 Oct 2008. Web. 29 Sep 2010.

Gulli, Cathy. "Canada Day Special: Why we live

longer." Macleans.Ca. N.p., 29 Jun. 2009. Web. 23 Sep 2010.

"Health Care System." Health Canada. N.p., 20 May 2005. Web. 23

Sep 2010

Jackson, Jill, and John Nolan. "Health Care Reform Bill Summary: A

Look At What's in the Bill ." CBS News: Politics. CBS News,

23 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 Sep 2010