Canadian Health Care System

Canadian Health Care System

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to provide information regarding the health care system of Canada. It would include discussion and recommendation in order to improve the performance of Canadian Health Care System. Canada's Health Care System also known as “Medicare” is basically a set of interrelated health insurance plans. These insurance plans vary from territories to territories. Every territory or the province has its own financial resources to fulfill the needs and success of their plan. Canadian Health Care System is a publically funded health care system that works on “do more for less”. The Canadian government only spent about 10% of their GDP on the health care still the Canadian citizens have common access to their health care system. From the very beginning, the Canadian Health Care System has the aim to provide its citizen what they need and not to query whether they can pay or not.

After the 60's Canada had developed a universal health care system that comprises of all the medical services. The Canadian government completely took the control of hospitals budget and fixed a proper fees for the physicians and the health care charges. In 1984 the Canadian Health Act was passed. This act restricted all the extra charges and outlawed any medical services outside the health care system.

This paper describes History, the available resources for the Health Care System of Canada, the performance of so called “Medicare” and the suggestions and recommendations to the betterment of the Canadian Health Care System. The basics need of this paper is to understand the possible changes, if necessary, in the Medicare of Canada to bring it parallel to the current need of the Canadian citizens and to make the Canadian Health Care System the finest in the world.

Discussion

History of Canadian Health Care System

In 1914 Canada was the colony of British Empire so during the First World War it was also affected by the war effects. In 1917 Robert Borden and his conservative Government decided to create the federal health department to overcome the post war social problems. In 1921 the Canadian government for the first time showed its responsibilities towards the social services like sickness insurance and mother's allowance. According to the British North America Act of 1867 the Canadian provinces were made responsible for the Hospitals. The Canadian Medical Association presented a paper in 1917 that demanded the foundation of Federal Bureau of Health so that there would be a centrally controlled health program all across Canada.

A time wise history of Canadian Health Care System from the year 1947 is as follows:

1947: First provincial hospitals insurance program was introduced in Canada. 

1957: National insurance hospital program was introduced, everyone except the public fought against it.

1960: CMA opposed all the health care system funded by the public.

1962: Despite all opposition and strikes, running for3 weeks, the government introduced the first publically funded health care program.

1965: for the development of a universal and national insurance health program, Royal Commission was allotted by the ...