Canada v. Europe on Healthcare: Europe Wins
Each year, the Frontier Centre which compares the quality of health care services in Canada to that offered in 31 European countries. The Euro Canada Health Consumer Index measures which health care systems meet the expectations and needs of patients.
Unfortunately, Canada has fared quite poorly. In 2009, Canada ranked 23rd out of 31 countries. In short, the ECHI found that with its long wait times and lack of transparency, Canada’s health care system does not respond as well as the systems which exist in most European nations. Canada’s performance appears even worse when one considers that Canada is among the world leaders in health care expenditures. Of the 32 countries studied for the report, just three countries –Luxembourg, Switzerland and Norway – spend more money per person on healthcare. Due to Canada’s high level of spending and mediocre performance record, Canada scored at the very bottom of the ECHI’s adjusted “bang-for-the-buck” health care quality index.
Source: Euro Canada Health Consumer Index 2009
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