Sept 01, 2009
Originally posted on Half an Hour, September 1, 2009.
Responding to this bit of propaganda from the Fraser Institute published in the Times & Transcript:
All very well to talk about what health care costs Canadians, but consider:
- we still pay less that half what Americans pay, and
- we get better health outcomes (longer lives, lower infant mortality, etc)
Also, when comparing our insurance with Americans', keep in mind:
- we don't pay health care premiums
- we don't have deductibles to pay when we get injured or sick
- insurance pays 100% of the cost, not 80%
- there is no maximum coverage in the Canadian system
- your health insurance doesn't expire or disappear for any reaosn, not even for pre-existing conditions, not because you turned age 50, not because you live in a rural area
All very well to talk about what health care costs Canadians, but consider:
- we still pay less that half what Americans pay, and
- we get better health outcomes (longer lives, lower infant mortality, etc)
Also, when comparing our insurance with Americans', keep in mind:
- we don't pay health care premiums
- we don't have deductibles to pay when we get injured or sick
- insurance pays 100% of the cost, not 80%
- there is no maximum coverage in the Canadian system
- your health insurance doesn't expire or disappear for any reaosn, not even for pre-existing conditions, not because you turned age 50, not because you live in a rural area
Finally, regarding 777 777's assertion that government run health care involves higher administrative costs:
As we see here and in *numerous* other references, administrative costs in the U.S. system are much higher.
This doctor notes, "Even the U.S. Medicare program has 80% to 90% lower administrative costs than private Medicare Advantage policies."
Using actual data, and not political platitudes, shows: "Single-payer systems reduce duplicative administrative costs and can negotiate lower prices.
The actual savings are significant. "Health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada."
More - "USA wastes more on health care bureaucracy than it would cost to provide health care to all of the uninsured."
As we see here and in *numerous* other references, administrative costs in the U.S. system are much higher.
This doctor notes, "Even the U.S. Medicare program has 80% to 90% lower administrative costs than private Medicare Advantage policies."
Using actual data, and not political platitudes, shows: "Single-payer systems reduce duplicative administrative costs and can negotiate lower prices.
The actual savings are significant. "Health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada."
More - "USA wastes more on health care bureaucracy than it would cost to provide health care to all of the uninsured."
For example:
- the incomes listed are taxable incomes, not gross or even net incomes. Thus, the *actual* income of someone paying $9,873, for example, is much higher than the $96,217 stated in the article
- not all government revenues are derived from personal taxes. There are corporate taxes, tariffs, and royalties on resources like oil and minerals, among other things. So it is a misrepresentation to suggest that individual taxes pay for the *entire* cost of Canadian health care
- the numbers listed are not per *person* but rather are per *taxpayer* - this means that the $9,873 paid by a person pays not only for the person's health care, but any dependents and children, as well as for people on income support (such as pensioners, the unemployed, and welfare recipients).