U.S. and Canada's Health Care Systems

Both the United States and Canada operate under a system of federal government, whereby separate states, provinces, and territories are autonomous in some matters but subject to a central government in other others. However, while the U.S. health care system is a combination of private and public services, all health insurance in Canada is obtained through the government (Weitz 374). Thus, the Canadian system is referred to as national health insurance, or a single-payer system.

In Canada, the provinces and territories control their health insurance systems, but the federal government is able to oversee each region's system through its financial clout (Weitz 375). The federal government subsidizes the provinces and territories if they provide the four following services to their constituents: (1) everyone in the province is provided with health care without having to pay out-of-pocket costs; (2) benefits are portable from province to province; (3) all medically necessary services are covered; and (4) the program is administered through a public, non-profit agency (Weitz 375).

In the United States, residents generally are provided health care coverage by their employers. Blue Cross covers hospital bills and Blue Shield covers medical bills (Weitz 329). Initially, BCBS' fees were based on community ratings, i.e., each insured's premium was based on the average risk level of his or her community. H

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nd some permanently disabled persons for hospital and medical bills. Medicaid covers persons based on income and physical vulnerability (Weitz 336). In Canada, on the other hand, the national health insurance system pays all costs for everyone of medical, hospital, and long-term care, mental health services, and, for those over 65, the cost of prescription drugs (Weitz 375). These costs are paid for by federal and provincial taxes. Canadians can choose any primary care doctor they want. Hospitals in Canada receive an annual operating budget from the insurance system and can spend their budgets as they like, with no controls imposed by the government so long as they provide care to anyone in their region who needs services (Weitz 375). Thus, there is far less likelihood in Canada that someone who needs medical services will be unable to obtain them. Access to Care United States residents are ten times more likely than Canadians to report that financial problems keep them from receiving needed care (Weitz 377). This is largely due to the fact that most Americans receive their health care through their employers. Approximately 39.7 million Americans (15.3 percent) lacked health insurance in 1993 (Weitz 346). Because almo
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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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