Nations around the world strive to find the best healthcare plans. Canada and the United States, though very close in proximity, are opposite in their ideas of an effective healthcare plan. Since people are drastically growing in numbers, living longer and our technology improving, better health care is becoming a much more complicated task even for highly regarded nations such as America and Canada.

COMPARISON OF AMERICAN AND CANADIAN HEALTHCARE PLANS

Most, when comparing the American Health Care system with that of Canada’s, rate the Canadian system as superior to that of the United States. In reality, however, the two systems are not that easily compared. The demographics, political environment and even the geographic location of the two countries are entirely different. Both systems have their strong points and both have weak points as well.

Unfortunately health care in the United States is not free nor is it equally accessible by all. In fact, health care is one of the biggest industries in the United States. It generated an estimated one trillion dollars in revenues in 1995 (Ginzberg, 1994). Over

further deviate from previously agreed on courses of

Canada too has experienced problems in her health care system. Although her public administration has in the long run saved considerable administrative costs, it has failed to at least some degree in controlling the cost and volume of services (Adams, Bennett, 1993). Canada has outspent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in terms of the percent of gross domestic product spent on health care for the last three decades (Armstrong,1998).

Part of the controversy over Canadian health care reform revolves around what is referred to as a “two-tiered” system. This would involve the encouragement of those Canadians who were willing to pay for private health care insurance (Adams, Bennett, 1993). This restructuring would undoubtedly relieve some of the pressures now integrated into the public system and allow the system to continue to flourish (Adams, Bennett, 1993). The two-tiered system, however, receives much controversy. Its opponents say it would only result in increased cost and in the erosion of the public system (Adams, Bennett, 1993).

health care system is substantially affected. More

there is more and more associated changes and the

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