Canada’s universal health-care system is performing poorly compared to other developed nations with similar models, concludes a new commentary from the Fraser Institute.
Although Canadians pay one of the highest per-capita health-care costs in the developed world, the report finds the system consistently falls short on access to physicians, hospital beds and diagnostic equipment.
In countries like Switzerland and Australia — which spend similar or less on health care — patients encounter shorter wait-times and better service, the institute says. The piece argues a key difference is the significant role of private-sector delivery in those systems, from for-profit hospitals to optional out-of-pocket care.
“Canada’s health-care system is failing the very patients it was created to protect, while sticking taxpayers with a world-class bill,” the authors write.
The report calls on policymakers to explore a larger role for the private sector in delivering health-care services, warning that current problems — like emergency-department closures and patients fleeing abroad for care — are not normal in other jurisdictions with universal coverage.
