To The Canadians Out There How Much Does The Average Canadian Pay In Taxes For Socialized Medicine

I've heard if want to see a universal healthcare system that works, look at France. Very efficient and very costly, does cover dental.

Maybe Bridgette will reply, also what are the taxes? Costs etc.

How long is the wait time?

Canadians, would you give us your input? Pro's and  also the cons?

What are your wait times, cost, with socialized medicine in Mexico?
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Can we please, please leave out the politics?

We have some mighty fine intelligent posters here and I for one look forward to your answers. As usual cites are welcome and appreciated!

I have heard that some Canadians pay up to 75% of their gross earnings for income tax, provincial sales tax and federal sales tax. The highest taxes are on the sin/luxury items such as cigarettes, liquor and gasoline. Each province allocates 60% to 75% of their yearly budget to their medical system. Provincial health plans do not cover prescriptions or other incidentals such as chiropractic services or cosmetic procedures. There can be long wait times to get tests done in non-emergency situations. Every Canadian citizen is eligible for healthcare. Some provinces charge a monthly fee which is usually covered by your employer. If you are self employed they send you a monthly bill. When I left Vancouver 7 years ago the monthly fee ranged from free to $75 per month depending on your income level.

Without doing a Google search which would provide metrics on your questions here's my view of Canadian health care.

It's like any type of insurance. you pay a premium and hope you don't need to collect. If you don't collect another insured will benefit from your premiums.

With universal health care the idea is everyone contributes through taxes. So its a progressive fee. Secondly the expectation is that younger taxpayers will use the health system less and their "premiums" will support the elderly and those who suffer chronic or catastrophic heath issues.

Health care is a Provincial area and I last remember it consumed almost 60 % of the budget in my province of Ontario.

In terms of expenditures I believe Canada on average spends 8 or 9% of GDP on public health. The US by comparison spends I think something like 12 or 13% on  poorer results in areas like lifespan, infant mortality, etc..

Wait times I'd guess are worse than in the States but having survived lung cancer, back surgery, bi-lateral hernias, cataracts and a retinal detachment I received very timely and top notch treatment. In the case of the back surgery and the retinal detachment I went from specialist visit to surgery the next day.

My recollection anyway

SunFan

"Average" taxes, if there is such a thing, are between 35% and 50% for the working stiff in the "middle" class. Each province handles it differently. I can only speak for Ontario.

For emergency care, there is NO waiting. That's the most important thing to me. When my father-in-law exhibited signs of a heart attack, instant access. When my second wife was diagnosed with cancer, instant access to MRIs.

Some years back when I checked, it cost $12,000 US to have a baby in the States. In Canada, one doesn't even think about it.

Interesting read for Quebec residents' Health and prescription drug plan.  


Heath Insurance

I don’t know the tax bill for residents of France but when I went for a friend’s 90th birthday in Barbaste he had a wound on his leg. A nurse came daily to his home to dress it and he was certainly ambulatory and not a shut-in. He wasn’t a citizen of France but was listed as his partner’s concubine. No charge. His partner developed lung cancer and from what I hear his medical care was impeccable.

Wow! CBob

Very informative post's everyone.

So how do you compare it with Mexican healthcare? The socialized care.

I imagine some of you don't need the socialized part being a snowbird.

Maybe someone that uses Imss and Suguero will chime in on their more recent experiences.

Canada and all provinces are run as a parliamentary democracy, based on the Westminster system.

Quebec is different, by the fact they base their laws on the Napoleonic Code.

Provinces have their own parliaments, and have their own laws, like states.

In the case of healthcare each province runs it's own.

Am I correct?

Yes. But the Federal Government controls pricing for medical procedures and prescriptions across all provinces.

Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid and the VA is the same here in the US. The increases in monthly premiums, co-pays etc, are based on inflation, which is reflected in the COLA. *cost of living*

There is also NO co-pay in Canada. Just a monthly premium in some provinces and nothing in other provinces because the employer pays for it. Don't know what it is now in Ontario but it used to be a small percentage (like 2%) of gross pay per employee.
Over 65 and all prescriptions are also covered for about (used to be) $125.00 dollars per year. Don't know what it is now.

espíritu del lago wrote:Wow! CBob

Very informative post's everyone.

So how  do you compare it with Mexican healthcare? The socialized care.

I imagine some of you don't need the socialized part being a snowbird.

Maybe someone that uses Imss and Suguero will chime in on their more recent experiences.

It is not comparab!e to the social systems here by any means. More comparable to the private systems here other than some wait times for non emergency situations

Maybe I can help. I have experience with both systems. The Seguro Popular system is currently subsidized by the I.V.A. tax system. It is now going to be rolled into a new national system, with a new name, and likely an annual family/household membership based on income. Grants for infrastructure and improvement are on a grant per grant basis, and expanding very rapidly, because they are politically popular.

As far as the level of care, I have experienced very little difference between the public hospital I go to in Guadalajara and in Canada. The level of expertise, dedication and equipment is the same (although public hospitals here may have to rent specialised equipment, which the patient has to pay for). If there is any chance at all that you might end up in an intensive care ward, you want to make sure you are in Tier 3 hospital, nearest is Guadalajara. In Canada, I have witnessed some intense "political" rivalries between doctors and bureaucracy, which have nothing to do with patient care. This may exist in Mexico too. The Mexican public hospitals certainly seem to have a much larger clerical bureaucracy and more interns.

The main differences between Canadian and Mexican hospitals are cultural. On first glance, the Mexican public hospitals seem very overcrowded. Then you begin to realise there might be only one patient, but then ten family members as the support team. They take shifts watching over the patient, many sleeping on the floor of the emergency room, in case there is any news in the night. Maybe Mexicans spend too much time watching Telenovellas which portray intensely dramafied medical experiences.

Most Canadian employers offer a free, or low cost, add on insurance which covers private rooms in hospital, prescriptions, optometrists, and 60% of dental. When you retire, you can carry on coverage for an annual fee.


France is considered having the best healthcare in the world. Canada is 7. The U.S.A. is 10

Very informative Chillin, thank you!

B.C. does pay for Rx drugs based on income. There is a deductable so mine usually kicks in mid year. Otherwise blessed with extended medical with 2 plans. Thank you organized labour. I now work to keep my "hour bank" topped up for the extended benefit coverage. Not onerous or I could shell out $C300/mth for same coverage.

I read an article some months ago regarding Canadian taxation which stated the each Canadian tax payer paid $13,000 for the plan. Who knows??

That's a very broad statement as it would be totally dependant on your earnings. Perhaps a top earner into the 6 figure range might pay $13,000 a year towards it but some WalMart clerk earning 35K a year certainly doesn't.

That's $9,700 USD  which seems reasonable to me. Remember that covers all 32 million or so residents not just the taxpayers.

Wonder what the US equivalent costs would be. Significantly higher I would guess.

SunFan

I pay $2600 USD for our international policy that includes Canada for both me and my wife. We have a $250 USD deductible. So that doesn't seem reasonable to me.

CanuckBob wrote:

espíritu del lago wrote:Wow! CBob

Very informative post's everyone.

So how  do you compare it with Mexican healthcare? The socialized care.

I imagine some of you don't need the socialized part being a snowbird.

Maybe someone that uses Imss and Suguero will chime in on their more recent experiences.

It is not comparab!e to the social systems here by any means. More comparable to the private systems here other than some wait times for non emergency situations

Also Mexico is a three-tiered system: there is seguro popular (for the very poor), IMSS (for the working poor) and private (for the rich). I read that Amlo plans to fold seguro popular into IMSS, then we'll be left with a 2 tiered system. In Canada, our system is truly universal and is one system for everyone. Although I did once go to a private clinic in Toronto that my company paid for, but at that time, it was the only private clinic in Ontario.

While the Canadian system isn't perfect, it is still pretty amazing in that one doesn't have to mortgage their house and go bankrupt if you get cancer or something. Also as others have pointed out, when in an emergency, the staff at the hospitals, triage to ensure you get to the front of the line.

I agree. It is a pretty amazing system.
It's a big country though and distant rural areas are not well served by it. I would really like to see a similar system such as they have here in Mexico. Doctors, are forgiven a certain portion (?) of their student loans if they spend two years (?) out in the boonies taking care of those that live there.
That seems to be a win/win scenario imho.

I should add also that you have to 'shop around' in Mexico for a good doctor (much like the US). In Canada, I don't have that same apprehension on whether the doctor is trained properly and is up on the latest techniques with the best equipment. I think it varies quite a bit depending on which part of Mexico you live. In Canada an incompetent doctor is dealt with pretty quickly; whereas, here, I'm not so sure that's the case.

There's duds in Canada too. It all depends on the problem with which they are dealing and whether it falls within the realm of their experience. No different that any other country. Patient, educate thyself.

My husband is American and has an American pension, and I am Canadian. We are residents of British Columbia. My husband files both US and Canadian income tax. He has to file the American first and then that payment is subtracted from the Canadian. For the past 6 or 7 years fling this way, he has not had to pay Canadian income tax. They are tax neutral. As seniors, we pay nothing for BC Med.

ElNido wrote:My husband is American and has an American pension, and I am Canadian. We are residents of British Columbia. My husband files both US and Canadian income tax. He has to file the American first and then that payment is subtracted from the Canadian. For the past 6 or 7 years fling this way, he has not had to pay Canadian income tax. They are tax neutral. As seniors, we pay nothing for BC Med.

I'm surprised. I would have thought that Canadian taxes, which include universal health care, would be much higher than US taxes on an equivalent income.

Am i missing something?

SunFan