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A Look At The North American Healthcare System

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A Look at The North American Healthcare System
Kailey Haskell
100584034
Professor Matthew Stein
SSCI 1200U: Introduction to Social Policy

Healthcare in the United States of America is very controversial, and viewed in many different facets. Arguably, the biggest social problems Americans’ face in connection to healthcare are affordability and accessibility. While Canadians have provincial health insurance (in Ontario this is known as OHIP) – which covers most, if not all, life threatening illnesses and injuries, the USA widely relies on health insurance provided by employers, at least for the working, middle, and upper classes. Government provided health care is mostly provided to those who have extremely low income …show more content…

Canadians do have the option to use private health clinics, which favours those with higher income – because they can afford it, however unlike the United States of America, all Canadians have basic coverage provided by the government, which are paid for through taxes.
Some significant differences between provinces for healthcare include; “drug coverage, family doctors, dental care, wait times and efficiency”, as well as senior care. “There is no real clear provincial leader in the healthcare field. Some provinces who receive top rankings in one area could be dead last in another.” (http://www.seiuhealthcare.ca/comparing_provincial_healthcare_plans). Ontario ranges from being the best to somewhere in the high-middle for all of these areas, the only thing really lacking is nursing homes – “Ontario only beds 45 beds per 1,000 seniors over the age of 65.” The leading provinces in senior care are Manitoba with 60% and Saskatchewan with 50%, the lowest being Quebec, who only have 31 beds for 1000 senior citizens. Ontario is one of the best in dental care, while Quebec offers the least coverage. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta are the best for keeping prescription drug prices low. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Ontario have the most

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