A typical Canadian family will pay nearly $12,000 for public healthcare this year, an increase of more than 50% over the last decade.
According to a Fraser Institute study, The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, a family consisting of two parents and two children will pay up to $11,786.
“Healthcare in Canada is not free—while Canadians may not pay directly for medical services, they pay a substantial amount of money for healthcare through taxes,” says Bacchus Barua, study co-author and senior economist in the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Health Policy Studies.
The study says most Canadians are unaware of the true cost of healthcare because they are not billed for any portion of physician and hospital services covered by tax-funded healthcare insurance.
Moreover, general government revenue—not a dedicated tax—bankrolls healthcare, while healthcare premiums (where applied among provinces) cover only a fraction of healthcare costs.
Using data from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the study estimates the amount of taxes Canadian families will pay for public health insurance in 2014, and by how much it has increased over the last decade.
Between 2004 and 2014, the cost of healthcare insurance for the average Canadian family (all family types) increased by 53.3%, dwarfing increases in income (34.7%), shelter (40.7%), clothing (33.4%) and food (15.6%).
“The cost of healthcare in Canada is rising, and it’s ordinary Canadians and their families who pay the bill,” he explains.
“Any debate about healthcare in Canada has to acknowledge the real cost Canadians pay through taxes,” Barua adds. “Once Canadians know how much healthcare actually costs them, they can then decide if the system delivers good value for their money.”
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