The United States presently spends nearly five times more per person on health care than does Canada. The U.S. administrative costs came out to $812 billion in 2017 or $2,497 per person compared with $551 per person in Canada.
In the World Health Organization’s ranking of healthcare system performance among 191 member nations published in 2000, Canada ranked 30th and the U.S. 37th while the overall health of Canadians ranked 35th and Americans 72nd.
Canada’s healthcare system is predominantly public with 70% of healthcare funding coming from the public-sector with the remaining 30% from the private-sector.
There is a shortage of doctors in Canada, especially in rural areas. There are 241 physicians per 100,00 (vs. 278 per 100,000 in the U.S.) 92% of all doctors work in urban areas.
*Compiled by George Shafer, Almonte, Ontario