Paying for Health Care in Canada 2010 (pdf) Medical Reform Group

Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 1
2. Health Care and the Challenge for Governments .................................................... 3
3. The Magnitude of Canadian Health Care Costs ....................................................... 4
4. Health Care Costs are Sustainable for our Society .................................................. 5
5. Canadian Government Health Spending .................................................................. 7
6. Options for Governments ......................................................................................... 8
7. What is Responsible for Increased Health Care Spending? .................................... 9
7.1 What can be done to Control Health Spending? ............................................. 11
7.2 Addressing Social Determinants ..................................................................... 13
8. Costs and Cost Reductions - Summary ................................................................. 14
9. Market-based solutions .......................................................................................... 15
9.1 User Fees ....................................................................................................... 15
9.2 Private Insurance - the Health Care Market .................................................... 16
9.3 Health as a Commodity ................................................................................... 18
10. Public versus Private Finance ............................................................................ 19
10.1 Equity .............................................................................................................. 19
10.2 Autonomy ........................................................................................................ 19
10.3 Efficiency......................................................................................................... 20
10.4 Cost Control .................................................................................................... 21
10.5 Effectiveness ................................................................................................... 21
10.6 Wait lists.......................................................................................................... 22
10.7 Overall Economic Impact ................................................................................ 23
10.8 Physicians’ Work ............................................................................................. 24
10.9 Public versus Private Finance: The Bottom Line ............................................. 25
11. Public Options for Increasing Revenues for Health Care ................................... 25
11.1 Increasing income tax rates ............................................................................ 27
11.2 Elimination of the private health insurance subsidy ........................................ 27
11.3 Taxes directed to health care .......................................................................... 27
11.4 "Sin" taxes ....................................................................................................... 28
11.5 Social Insurance ............................................................................................. 29
12. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 30
13. References ......................................................................................................... 32