Health But nowhere – in either the UK or the EU – are there the months-long waits for medically necessary procedures that 1,425,517 Canadians had to tolerate in 2021.* Assuming that each person waited for only one procedure, this means that 3.7 per cent of Canadians were on wait lists for treatment in 2021. In addition, the waiting time from referral by a general practitioner to a specialist took an average of 11.1 weeks in 2021. The shortest waits were in Ontario, the longest in PEI (by twice). * Fraser report: Waiting Your Turn 2021. Among these delayed procedures, hip replacements are constantly top priorities. A 2018 Commonwealth Fundmultinational survey comparing in-patient hip replacement procedures for patients 65 or older in 10 countries showed that the Swiss were top of the list with 16.9 per thousand population, Americans next with 15.6 and Germans with 14.5. Last on the list of 10 was Canada with 9.6. Ditto the administration of MRI exams per thousand population: Germany scored 149, France 120, Canada came in ninth out of 10, with 51. As authors of the Fraser study concluded: “Our hope is that these figures will enable Canadians to more clearly understand just how much they pay for public health-care insurance, and how that amount is changing. With a more precise estimate of what they really pay, Canadians will be in a better position to decide whether they are getting a good return on the money they spend on health care.” Medical writer Milan Korcok was a founding Features Editor for The Medical Post and has served as Contributing Editor for the Canadian Medical Association Journal for many years. Milan is a dual Canadian/ U.S. citizen. He resides permanently in Florida. He welcomes your comments at mkorcok@aol.com. Average tax bill for Health-Care Insurance Average cash income Average income and average total tax bill for public health insurance 2022 Unattached individuals $50,140 $4,907 Two parents, one child $154,287 $15,917 Two parents, two children $156,086 $15,847 One parent, one child $73,805 $5,812 CSANews | FALL 2022 | 37
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