Health spending up 6.6%

Total healthcare spending in Canada reached $160.1 billion last year, up 6.6% over 2006. The ratio of private- to public-sector spending remains relatively stable at 30:70 for the 11th consecutive year. Private-sector spending (insurance and out-of-pocket) reached $47.1 billion in 2007, while public-sector spending reached $113 billion. In 2005 (the last year for which data was available), Canada spent about as much on healthcare per person (US$3,326) as seven other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. Among 23 OECD countries, the United States spent the most at $6,401 per person, followed by Norway ($4,362), Switzerland ($4,177) and Austria ($3,519). The lowest per capita expenditures were seen in Turkey ($586) and Mexico ($675).

 

Job quality key to prosperity

To recruit and retain workers in Canada, employers and governments should focus on improving job quality, says a new report. With a strong economy generating a record number of jobs and a wave of baby boomers set to retire, with fewer young workers to replace them, Canada is facing serious workforce renewal challenges over the next several years. Improvements in job quality will contribute to Canadians’ overall quality of life and ensure the country’s future economic prosperity, the report says.

Bullying causes Abuse of power followed by overbearing supervision and exclusion are the most common forms of bullying in the workplace, according to a survey of senior managers in the United Kingdom. When asked what is the main reason behind bullying:

  • 66% of senior managers said a lack of management skills
  • 57% said the personality of the bully
  • 56% said an authoritarian management style
  • 37% said failure to address previous bullying incidents
  • 27% said unrealistic targets set by the bully

Sources: Healthcare spending — Canadian Institute for Health Information, National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975-2007; Job quality — Graham Lowe, 21st Century Job Quality: Achieving What Canadians Want, September 2007; Bullying — Ban Bullying at Work Campaign, November 2007; Exercise — Health Information and Research Division of Statistics Canada, Health Reports, Vol. 18, No. 3, “Physically active Canadians,” August 2007.

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© Copyright 2008 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the February 2008 edition of WORKING WELL magazine.