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Value for money: an evaluation of health spending in Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Ruolz Ariste

    (Université Laval
    Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO))

  • Livio Di Matteo

    (Lakehead University)

Abstract

The long-term increase in international health spending sparked concerns about sustainability of health care systems but also the impact of such spending and the value for money from health spending. The period since 1975 has witnessed an increase in per capita health spending in Canada along with improvements in health outcomes. This paper is an economic evaluation of health spending in Canada—an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of aggregate health spending. Estimates of the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) are made for the whole 1980–2012 period and for four sub-periods of time—1980–1989; 1989–1998; 1998–2007 and 2007–2012. This is done for both the general population as well as Canadian seniors. Under a medium contribution of health spending to life expectancy scenario for the 1980–2012 period, the costs per QALY gained averaged $16,977 and $14,968, respectively for the general population and the seniors. This suggests that the Canadian health system produces relatively good value for money, especially for the seniors. After applying separate adjustments to match total health spending in the US and NHS health spending in the UK, we found that costs per QALY gained in Canada were generally lower than those found for the US, but not for the UK.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruolz Ariste & Livio Di Matteo, 2017. "Value for money: an evaluation of health spending in Canada," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 289-310, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ijhcfe:v:17:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10754-016-9204-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10754-016-9204-6
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    Cited by:

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    2. Niek Stadhouders & Xander Koolman & Christel van Dijk & Patrick Jeurissen & Eddy Adang, 2019. "The marginal benefits of healthcare spending in the Netherlands: Estimating cost‐effectiveness thresholds using a translog production function," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(11), pages 1331-1344, November.
    3. Štrangfeldová Jana & Štefanišinová Nikola, 2020. "Value for Money in Organizations Providing Public Education Services and How to Measure It," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 66(2), pages 62-70, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Evaluation; Health spending; Outcomes; Canada;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other

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