Centre for the Study of Civic Renewal
Fast Facts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2001
VITAL SIGNS:
A STATISTICAL OVERVIEW OF CANADA’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
• In 1991, a full 61% of Canadians rated the health care system highly. By 1999, only 24% rated the system as “excellent” or “very good”.
• In a 1998 Pollara survey, 96% of Canadians agreed that “substantial repairs, if not a complete rebuilding, are necessary to maintain the [health care] system’s quality”.
• According to the Fraser Institute, in 1997, there were over 187,000 Canadians waiting for surgical procedures. According to a Statistics Canada paper, 45% of patients waiting for treatment describe themselves as being “in pain”.
• Responding to the Canadian Medical Association’s 1998 Physician Resource Questionnaire, doctors are troubled by access to care. Only 27% of physicians rated as excellent, very good, or good their access to advanced diagnostic equipment such as MRI scanners.
• In a recent study, Eva Ryten, the former research director at the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges, estimated that nearly half of the doctors who graduated in 1997 in Canada moved abroad.
• The median age of Canada’s population was only 25 when Parliament passed the National Medical Insurance Act. Today the median age is approaching 40.
• Statistics Canada reports that out of every dollar spent on health in Canada today, 39¢ is spent on the 65+ age group. Another 20¢ is spent by the 45-65 group. In other words, 59¢ of every dollar spent on health care is for those in their middle age or senior years.
• According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, between 1978 and 1991 the number of years a Canadian woman lives in good health dropped by 2.3 years. Canadian men also experienced a modest decline of 0.4 years of good health. In contrast, many countries – France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands – have experienced substantial increases.
• In 1990, total health care expenditures amounted to $61 billion. In 1998, more than $80 billion was spent, an increase of approximately 20%, allowing for inflation.
• The average working Canadian pays roughly 21¢ of every dollar earned in taxes for all-inclusive medical insurance.
• The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Services attempted to calculate the tax rates needed to pay for the medicare system in the future, taking into account Canada’s shifting demographics. In 1995, the average family paid a tax rate of 48%. In 2010, the average family’s taxes will need to jump to 58.5%. Increases will have to continue to 74.5% in 2025 and 94.5% in 2040 if better methods of managing health care costs are not found.
SOURCE: Code Blue: Reviving Canada’s Health Care System - 2001 Condensed Edition, Gratzer, D., M.D., with a foreword by Snow, A.. Published by the Centre for the Study of Civic Renewal.
To read Code Blue: Revitalizing Canada's Health Care System - 2001 Condensed Edition, click here.*
