Does Canada's publicly funded, single payer health care system deliver better health outcomes and distribute health resources more equitably than the multi-payer heavily private U.S. system? We show that the efficacy of health care systems cannot be usefully evaluated by comparisons of infant mortality and life expectancy. We analyze several alternative measures of health status using JCUSH (The Joint Canada/U.S. Survey of Health) and other surveys. We find a somewhat higher incidence of chronic health conditions in the U.S. than in Canada but somewhat greater U.S. access to treatment for these conditions. Moreover, a significantly higher percentage of U.S. women and men are screened for major forms of cancer. Although health status, measured in various ways is similar in both countries, mortality/incidence ratios for various cancers tend to be higher in Canada. The need to ration resources in Canada, where care is delivered "free", ultimately leads to long waits. In the U.S., costs are more often a source of unmet needs. We also find that Canada has no more abolished the tendency for health status to improve with income than have other countries. Indeed, the health-income gradient is slightly steeper in Canada than it is in the U.S.
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13429.
Length: Date of creation: Sep 2007 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13429
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Find related papers by JEL classification: I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Production I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
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David M. Cutler & Angus S. Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2006.
"The Determinants of Mortality,"
NBER Working Papers
11963, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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David Cutler & Angus Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2005.
"The Determinants of Mortality,"
Working Papers
164, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
[Downloadable!]
David Cutler & Angus Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2005.
"The Determinants of Mortality,"
Working Papers
235, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing..
[Downloadable!]
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