What's Canadian Health Care Really Like?

In case you missed it, National Public Radio (NPR) had an interesting program yesterday (Monday, July 27th) entitled, "What's Canadian Healthcare Really Like?" You can listen to the podcast by logging onto:

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=111063897&m=111063892

The program outlined some of the pros and cons of the Canadian system. While many Canadians called in to praise their healthcare system, two notable interviews addressed some of the deficiencies in their system. One of the interviews was with Dr. Brian Day, former President of the Canadian Medical Association. The other was with Mr. DeSange, the former Minister of Health for Canada.

These doctors noted the following:

1. Prescription drug coverage isn't available universally in Canada. Richer provinces offer coverage and poorer provinces often do not;
2. 1 in 7 Canadians doesn't have a primary care physician due to physician shortages;
3. There appears to be variation in the administration of care among the provinces;
4. 2/3'rd's of Canadian purchase medical supplements to cover items not covered by their plans (ie: ambulance services; RX drugs; mental health, chiropractic);

It was also noted that the Canadian Government sometimes exports patients to the United States for care when it is not readily available in Canada. This might lead one to suspect that the Canadian system might not be able to meet the needs of all of its citizens without the U.S. medical system to back it up.

While both gentlemen said that there were obviously some good things about their universal system of care, Dr. Day commented that neither the Canadian system, nor the United States healthcare system, were the ideal model for healthcare. He noted that other countries like Germany, Switzerland, etc. were able to provide better quality, more efficient healthcare at a lower, more predictable cost.

All in all, it was an interesting program that helped clear up some of the myths I had heard about the Canadian healthcare system.