Canada’s health spending per capita is the fourth-highest of 17 countries assessed in The Conference Board recent study looking at whether or not countries get what they pay for when it comes to health care. We rank 10th in overall health performance, but several countries spend less than Canada yet have healthier populations overall.
“The adage that you get what you pay for applies in general to healthcare spending, but there are some major exceptions among the world’s most developed countries,” said David Stewart-Patterson, The Conference Board of Canada’s new vice-president of public policy.Vice-President, Public Policy. “Canada has relatively high overall spending and middle-of-the-pack health outcomes. Countries such as Australia and Sweden spend less than Canada per person, and generally get better results.”
“Many factors affect the health of a population,” he added. “How the money is being spent is just as important as how much is being spent.”
The United States is by far the biggest health spender, at over US$7,500 per person in 2008. However, the U.S. has the worse results by far of any peer country, ranking last overall on population health. The U.S. records the lowest life expectancy and ranks last on another key health indicator, infant mortality.
In 2008, 10% of Canada’s GDP went to health spending—the equivalent of US$4,079 per person, with a life expectancy 3.1 years longer than the U.S. and the 16th lowest infant mortality rate.
Japan, the country with the lowest health expenditures (US$2,729), has excellent health outcomes. The Japanese have both the highest life expectancy and the second-lowest infant mortality rate among the peer countries assessed.
The Conference Board of Canada will be assessing the sustainability of healthcare through the Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care (CASHC). The purpose of this multi-year initiative is to provide Canadian business leaders and policy makers with insightful, forward-looking, quantitative analysis of the sustainability of the Canadian health-care system and all of its facets. CASHC will be launched on Friday, May 13 in Toronto.
Related Articles
• Troubled Healthcare System