Impact of Rising Health Care Costs in Canada - Essay Example

The amount that Canada spends on health helps to improve the well-being of its citizens. However, the issue has raised debates in the US, which spends approximately 15 percent of its GDP on health care but its healthcare standards are low compared to other developed nations (Kocher, Emanuel, & DeParle, 2010). In this perspective, although there is a noteworthy connection between a country’s well-being and its GDP, its income is just a single measure used to determine the overall well-being of the population.

Can we afford to spend so Much?

Most developed economies spend between 8 and 17 percent of their Gross Domestic Product on health care. It is not practical for an economy to go beyond this limit since this could put pressure on the citizens of a country. Research shows that from 1950 to 1995, spending per capita on healthcare rose at an average rate of 4.7 percent annually while GDP per capita rose at 2.1 percent. From 1995 to 2011, the average growth rate of healthcare spending per capita rose at an average of 3.1 percent while GDP per capita grew by 1.4 percent (Lindenburg, 2012). Thus, the growth in healthcare spending is higher than GDP growth. This indicates that developed countries such as Canada can't afford to spend on health care programs as the initiative would drain the resources of the economy.

Is the Amount Well Spent?

Various debates arise as to whether money directed toward healthcare is well spent or not. Considering the universal health care system in Canada, research shows that it is spent fairly. Unfortunately, several flaws exist, particularly with matters about the number of hospital beds per individual and patient wait times. When compared to the health care system in the United States, many flaws exist even though the U.S. exceeds Canada in health care spending. Such healthcare expenditure includes insufficient patient coverage and patients are forced to pay huge amounts of money for them to be accorded minor surgeries (Kocher, Emanuel, & DeParle, 2010). In this case, there is indeed room for improvement concerning healthcare expenditure in most developed countries.

Relationship between Spent Proportion and Health Care Quality in a Country

There is a significant relationship between the amount of money spent and healthcare quality. HDI (Human Development Index) is an essential way of determining whether a country is spending its funds appropriately to cater to education, life expectancy, and improving the standards of living. Standards of living are high in countries that have high GDP since their governments can afford to spend significant funds on necessities such as healthcare. Canada is ranked eighth on HDI since the life expectancy of the country is at 81.8, and it directs 11.18 percent of its GDP towards health care (Kocher, Emanuel, & DeParle, 2010). Countries that direct fewer funds towards health care have a low life expectancy. In this case, high GDP or GNI in a country indeed boosts its wealth, making it possible for it to provide quality healthcare services to its population. Read More