The low cost of universal access to healthcare in Canada

The significant difference between Canada and the United States in respective share of productive activity consumed by healthcare has emerged only since 1971. This difference, currently about 2.5 percent of GNP, is concentrated in three components--medical care, hospital care and administration. Highlighted are the Canada-U.S. dissimilarities, both in overall healthcare cost and experiences since 1971. The reasons are tracked to greater U.S. hospital daily servicing intensity, higher U.S. physician fees, and the cost of the fragmented public-private U.S. system of administration and regulation.