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> Health care is done by the Provinces in Canada, with transfers from the Federal Government to help out. The most recent Alberta budget[0] puts the cost of hea

> Health care is done by the Provinces in Canada, with transfers from the Federal Government to help out. The most recent Alberta budget[0] puts the cost of health care at about $20B. This represents approximately 40% of Alberta government spending. Worth considering: Per http://www.chcf.org/publications/2016/05/health-care-costs-101 http://www.chcf.org/publications/2016/05/health-care-costs-1... > US health spending reached $3.0 trillion in 2014, or $9,523 per capita, and accounted for 17.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). The Population of Alberta is around 4,196,457 per a statscan estimate for 2015. 4,196,457 * 9,523 = 39962860011 So we're spending ~20,000,000,000 CAD = ~15.5 Billion USD, versus 39,962,860,011 USD for the same population in the US. edit: The US number seems to include prescription drug spending. Per http://www.statista.com/statistics/436305/medication-spending-per-capita-canada-by-province/ http://www.statista.com/statistics/436305/medication-spendin..., it's $867 per person in Alberta, or $3,638,328,219 CAD -- so it's closer to $18.5 Billion USD for health spending in Alberta. That's a better deal any way you look at it, especially when you bear in mind that Canada has better overall outcomes than the US.

forgetsusername 10y ago
>That's a better deal any way you look at it I'm Canadian and can't get a family doctor (nor can my wife). I don't consider that a "good deal". Maybe if it was more lucrative (read: doctors made more money, budgets were higher) we could attract more talent and I could?
- msbarnett 10y ago
  The US system has the same issue -- many people don't have a regular family doctor and rely on clinics. It's a more complicated problem than pay -- family medicine simply isn't an attractive speciality to many medical students. Money could move the needle a bit, but treating strep throat is never going to be a prestigious pursuit versus a lot of other specialties. And if it doesn't improve overall longterm outcomes, it's not worth spending the money to move that needle. At any rate, it's rarely impossible to find a family doctor, but it can take some persistence to find one accepting new patients. Almost every provincial medical association maintains a list of family doctors accepting new patients. If you're in a small town it might be a challenge, though. edit: to put some numbers on this, 15% of Canadians don't have a family doctor (http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-countries-in-health-care-wait-times-1.1647061 http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-c...). In the much higher spending US system, 20% of Americans don't have a family doctor (http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-americans-has-no-family-doctor http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-american...).
- UseStrict 10y ago
  Where do you live that you are having these problems? I was able to find a family doctor within a month of searching and reading reviews. Granted I'm based in a major city (Ottawa), but I was normally directed to other physicians when I called one that wasn't accepting patients.

forgetsusername 10y ago

>That's a better deal any way you look at it I'm Canadian and can't get a family doctor (nor can my wife). I don't consider that a "good deal". Maybe if it was more lucrative (read: doctors made more money, budgets were higher) we could attract more talent and I could?

msbarnett 10y ago
The US system has the same issue -- many people don't have a regular family doctor and rely on clinics. It's a more complicated problem than pay -- family medicine simply isn't an attractive speciality to many medical students. Money could move the needle a bit, but treating strep throat is never going to be a prestigious pursuit versus a lot of other specialties. And if it doesn't improve overall longterm outcomes, it's not worth spending the money to move that needle. At any rate, it's rarely impossible to find a family doctor, but it can take some persistence to find one accepting new patients. Almost every provincial medical association maintains a list of family doctors accepting new patients. If you're in a small town it might be a challenge, though. edit: to put some numbers on this, 15% of Canadians don't have a family doctor (http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-countries-in-health-care-wait-times-1.1647061 http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-c...). In the much higher spending US system, 20% of Americans don't have a family doctor (http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-americans-has-no-family-doctor http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-american...).
UseStrict 10y ago
Where do you live that you are having these problems? I was able to find a family doctor within a month of searching and reading reviews. Granted I'm based in a major city (Ottawa), but I was normally directed to other physicians when I called one that wasn't accepting patients.