Canadian healthcare and the national Medicare program continue to have significant problems delivering healthcare services in the second decade. Despite the nation having universal healthcare, it ranks poorly in terms of affordability, particularly in Pharmacare and psychotherapy. The demographics of Canada have been linked to the poor ranking it scores in terms of healthcare equity compared to countries such as the Netherlands. Additionally, the issues have been attributed to poor health outcomes as indicated by preventable mortality, especially for new immigrants who may not have adequate access to chronic disease management. The vast geography of Canada continues to contribute to healthcare inequity, so the maldistribution of facilities impacts how it is accessed. Healthcare delivery in Canada continues to face problems in the second decade, as seen by a lack of affordability, demographics, poor health outcomes, and poor access to healthcare resources.
Affordability of healthcare is one of the issues facing Canada’s Medicare and healthcare system in the second decade of the century. According to Tsasis et al. (2019), affordability is significantly impacted by financial cuts and constraints, which have led to concerns about its sustainability. It is estimated that Canada spends approximately $200 billion annually, making up 12% of the GDP on healthcare alone. Despite this indication, favorable health outcomes for the masses have not yet been attained. The complexity of the healthcare system in this decade is part of the reason for a rise in the costs, with statistics indicating how expenditures in the sector surpass the nation’s economic growth.
Inequity is an issue evident in Canada’s healthcare system that is directly related to demographics. Hirello et al. (2022) look at how the inclusion of equity in the policy goals is intended to govern Canada’s healthcare systems, which also aligns with the global expectations of healthcare sustainability. For instance, visits to specialist physicians and general practitioners have been seen to be frequented by the rich, while hospital admissions are mostly related to the poor. Additionally, the inequity is seen the in the urban and rural areas, with the rich in urban areas being well-served as opposed to their counterparts in rural areas. This shows that despite equity being included as a policy goal, healthcare utilization in Canada continues to experience inequity.
Barriers to healthcare access show the problems the Canadian system continues to experience in the modern age. According to Karmali (2021), while the nation has the reputation of offering superior healthcare access and socioeconomic advantages, the outcomes are often not replicated for immigrants. This can be attributed to cultural, structural, and communication hindrances and insufficient trans-cultural training for healthcare providers leading to the “healthy immigrant effect” phenomenon. The barriers perpetuate inequity in the access to healthcare besides the maldistribution of resources, which impede the overall outcomes Medicare aims at achieving.
Despite the promise of the Medicare program in availing affordable and sustainable healthcare to all, the system continues to experience issues in the second decade of the century. The costs associated with funding healthcare in Canada have been escalating as the system becomes more complex, which lowers the population’s burden. Inequity in access is also among the key issues faced, as evidenced by immigrants and poor people lacking adequate access to healthcare facilities. Interventions aimed at building a more inclusive system are necessary to ensure equity and sustainability in the long run.
References
Hirello, L., Pulok, M. H., & Hajizadeh, M. (2022). Equity in healthcare utilization in Canada’s publicly funded health system: 2000–2014. The European Journal of Health Economics, 1-15. Web.
Karmali, N. (2021). The healthy immigrant effect: Is Canada’s health system failing immigrants? Global Health: Annual Review, 1(6), 28-30. Web.
Tsasis, P., Agrawal, N., & Guriel, N. (2019). An embedded systems perspective in conceptualizing Canada’s healthcare sustainability. Sustainability, 11(2), 531. Web.