Introduction to Canadian health care system
Canada has a single-payer health insurance scheme that covers virtually all residents. Most physicians are in private practice and they bill the insurance plans for their services. Being in private practice, they require medical liability insurance. This is usually obtained through a professional organization. However, physicians are reimbursed for a large portion of their insurance premiums by provincial governments. Fees are lower than in the United States for a number of reasons. Two of these are that Canada’s highest courts have set limits on awards and the country’s liability laws make establishing professional negligence more difficult. Another is that the physicians’ insurance company defends lawsuits very vigorously.
Where the Canadian system differs most significantly from that of the United States is in how health insurance is provided. In Canada, all of the provinces have a single health insurance program that covers virtually all residents. For example, Ontario has the Ontario Health Insurance Plan[2] and Quebec has the Quebec Health Insurance Plan.[3] The federal government subsidizes these provincial health insurance plans through its general revenues. There are no separate payroll deductions to fund the health care plans and Canada does not have a separate old-age health care program like Medicare in the United States.
Properly, the Canadian insurance system is more correctly described as a single-payer system, not a socialized one. In fact, Canadian physicians can even opt out of their provincial system and bill their patients directly. Taking this step puts a doctor outside the main Canadian health care system, however, since doctors are prohibited from billing patients for some services and insurance plans for others. Because of this, most doctors do choose to enroll in the provincial insurance plans and earn almost all their income from payments made by these plan.
The Canadian medical... [continues]
Canada has a single-payer health insurance scheme that covers virtually all residents. Most physicians are in private practice and they bill the insurance plans for their services. Being in private practice, they require medical liability insurance. This is usually obtained through a professional organization. However, physicians are reimbursed for a large portion of their insurance premiums by provincial governments. Fees are lower than in the United States for a number of reasons. Two of these are that Canada’s highest courts have set limits on awards and the country’s liability laws make establishing professional negligence more difficult. Another is that the physicians’ insurance company defends lawsuits very vigorously.
Where the Canadian system differs most significantly from that of the United States is in how health insurance is provided. In Canada, all of the provinces have a single health insurance program that covers virtually all residents. For example, Ontario has the Ontario Health Insurance Plan[2] and Quebec has the Quebec Health Insurance Plan.[3] The federal government subsidizes these provincial health insurance plans through its general revenues. There are no separate payroll deductions to fund the health care plans and Canada does not have a separate old-age health care program like Medicare in the United States.
Properly, the Canadian insurance system is more correctly described as a single-payer system, not a socialized one. In fact, Canadian physicians can even opt out of their provincial system and bill their patients directly. Taking this step puts a doctor outside the main Canadian health care system, however, since doctors are prohibited from billing patients for some services and insurance plans for others. Because of this, most doctors do choose to enroll in the provincial insurance plans and earn almost all their income from payments made by these plan.
The Canadian medical... [continues]
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