The United States and Canada’s Health Systems

The United States and Canada’s Health Systems

In the past, Canada and the United States had the same health care system before in 1970, Canada changed its system. In both nations, the national government has continued to be very closely involved in healthcare. S in Canada, the Federal government provides funds to the provincial governments to health expenditure as long as the province abides by the set Canada Health care acts. They are both concerned with the health care services that are offered under their health care system. The paper will discuss the similarities and differences that exist in the health care system of the US and Canada.

Similarities between the Canadian and American health care system

The first similarity is that both health care system emphasizes on consumer protection. The health care system ensures that the consumer has better access to health care services and are at a reasonable rate. They both ensure that the consumer is protected from the unreasonable insurance rate increase. The consumer is protected through the right review to ensure that the insurance company does not increase consumer premium by more than 10% without publicly announcing. They also protect the consumer by giving them the right to choose a primary care provider from a health plan network. S the second similarity is that both the health care system recognizes the completion is important in enhancing innovation and quality care. Both works to ensuring that competition is maintained in the health care industry. Through the protection of competition, it helps improve the quality of services provided to the patients, and it helps spur innovation in the health care system.

The third similarity is that in both Canada and America, the federal agencies oversee the innovation of new procedures and medical equipment. In Canada, the federal government, just like in the US, regulate the safety and efficacy of the latest medical devices. They fund research to ensure that more innovation in the medical field. The federal government ensures that the newly innovated equipment in the medical field meets the required set standard. The fourth similarity is that they both emphasize primary care, especially on prenatal and postnatal care. Both health care system aims at having a zero-mortality rate at childbirth. The prenatal and postnatal care helps protect the life of the baby and that of the mother. The prenatal and postnatal care allows the physicians to perform regular checkups to help carb nay potential problems that may occur during pregnancy or in delivery.

The other similarity is that in both America and Canada, individuals use health care insurance as the primary mode of payment. Us individual funding for their health care, unlike in Canada, where the federal government fund for all its citizen health care insurance, they all pay for their medical expenses through health care insurance. Whether an individual decides to have private insurance or an insurance cover offered by the employer, they all insurance to pay for their medical bills. The last similarity is that both the Canadian and American governments have dedicated to community health education to improve health care and as a preventive measure. Both nations emphasize on educating their people on the importance of having an insurance cover for their health. They teach them the importance of prevention measures as a means of ensuring better health care for their people.

Differences between the American and Canadian health care system

The first difference is on the funding of the healthcare insurance coverage. In America, citizens are required to fund their health care insurance. The only individual that is get excepted from funding for their health insurance is those that qualify to access the government insurance program. Such programs include Medicare and Medicaid, which is for people with a given income, age, or disability bracket. While in Canada, the health insurance of the people gets funded by the federal government. The only requirement is that all the provinces that get funded follow the outline regulations on Canada Health Care Act. Through this funding, all Canadians get health care get to have health care insurance. Therefore, unlike in America, where the individual fund for healthcare insurance in Canada, all their citizens are having their health care insurance funded.

The second difference is in the competition for healthcare and the role of private industries in both nations. In America, the primary providers of health care insurance are private enterprises. The insurer competes for the customers by selling the health care insurance to an individual or to the employers as a healthcare benefit for the employees. The individual consumers influence this market; however, their choice of insurance gets overly controlled by the kind of services that get covered by insurance providers. In Canada, the federal and provincial providers do not provide most of the healthcare services, and instead, it is provided by private providers. It shows that in Canada, the doctor and physicians work independently by getting employed by private hospitals. Therefore, they do not get paid by claims made via private insurance. Physicians get most of their revenue by billing government health care insurance.

The third difference is on the type of care that health insurance covers in Canada and America. In America, the type of care covered that is provided by private insurance may vary depending on what an individual can afford. It also varies due to the type of benefits package that an employer negotiates. However, through the introduction of patient protection and the Affordable care act, each citizen is required to secure a minimum essential coverage. One can obtain this through private insurance or an employer. In Canada, the universal health care system that provides the coverage limits it to services that get provides by the hospital or the surgical, dental services that get provided in a hospital. In Canada, the dentist works outside a hospital, and therefore, for this service, one has to finance them throughout of pocket or through acquiring private insurance. Hence unlike in America, where health coverage relies on the benefits package negotiable in Canada, the universal health care system provides insurance for the additional services offered.

The fourth difference is on the number of primary care clinicians that make up all the doctors. In America, the primary care physician makes up one-third of the total number of doctors. They also lack any formal gatekeeping for providing specialist or referrals. Therefore, a patient is free to choose their doctor, but the choice is limited to whether the doctor falls in the in-network with their health insurance provider. The physicians get paid through the negotiable fees with private with a private insurer. In Canada, half of the practicing physicians are general practitioners. The act mainly as the gatekeeper for the health care services, and they refer patients to a specialist when a need arises. The patients, therefore, are not directly responsible for paying the Physician as long as their health care services have gotten covered by the universal health care plan. Thus, unlike in the US, where the primary physicians make up approximately a third of all doctors in Canada, they make up half of all doctors.

The last difference is on the payment of prescription drugs for the elderly. In the US, the elderly people pay for their prescription drugs. In U.s, the generic prices of drugs are high, and there are no programs that may help pay for prescription drugs for the elderly. In Canada, all the medicines that are given in the hospital fall under Medicare. All the provinces in Canada have programs that help the elderly access drugs. Drugs in Canada are lower because of the limited patent protection. Although both countries spend almost the same amount on GDP on pharmaceutical research, the elderly in Canada benefit more because their government pays for their prescription drugs. In contrast, in the US, most of them pay for prescription drugs.

In conclusion, Canada and the United States have a lot of similar aspects in their health care systems. They both emphasize consumer protection, and individuals in both nations use health care insurance as the primary mode of payment. The other similarity is that they both emphasize primary care, especially in prenatal and postnatal care. The last similarity is that they both have well established federal agencies that oversee the innovation of new procedures, and they both recognize competition as critical in enhancing competition and innovation and health care. The healthcare care system in both nations also differs. In Canada, primary Care Clinicians makeup half of all doctors while in the US and only make up a third of all doctors. The other difference is on the funding of health care insurance coverage and payment of prescription drugs for the elderly. The differences that exist are what causes the variance between the health care system in the US and Canada.

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