wait-lists and times for essential care ‒ both acute and long term. As the CIHI analysis has shown, many of Canada’s peer nations with universal health-care requirements in the OECD (i.e. Australia, Germany and the U.K.) all have more favourable access to family physicians, emergency departments, and acute and long-term beds. They also have supplemental, and largely voluntary, private access channels for patients who can afford to pay for services without endangering or diluting the resources for those individuals who rely on their individual tax-funded universal systems for the majority of their care. Germany, which has more than twice Canada’s population, is a peer OECD nation in terms of its advanced economic and industrial status and is often seen by health-care analysts as a potential model for Canada in blending private payment channels for self-employed or high-earning individuals ‒ or others who are prepared to pay for specific services rather than endure waits which they can avoid. This is accomplished without diluting the access or quality of services available to all of its residents via its highly rated universal statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) system, first designed in 1883 by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Germany’s health-care services and access points are highly regarded and, although their health costs per GDP are among the highest in the world,** they’re in the same range as Canada’s and are expected to top out at 12.6 % in 2026. **Health-care costs in the U.S. remain the highest among developed countries at 17% projected for 2026, but the U.S. does not have a universal health-care system. Rather, they have one that, except for Medicare/Medicaid for the elderly, relies mostly on private pay insurance. Therefore, it’s not usually factored into comparative analyses of national health costs. Nonetheless, it should be noted that in 2025, about 150,000 Canadians left the country ‒ many travelling to the U.S. and choosing to pay for medical procedures out of pocket rather than endure the growing wait-times which they faced by staying home. But unlike nations in which those decisions about going private are optional, Canadian medical travellers get hit twice, receiving no rebate for the thousands of dollars which they had already paid for health care through their diversified network of taxes. It appears that “free health care” if you can get it, is in the eyes of the beholder. Milan has been writing about health-care issues since the earliest days of Medicare for Canadian and international publications. He can be reached for comments at mkorcok@aol.com. Health Don't let our name fool you - we deliver to all States and Canada! DRIVEAWAY SERVICE Please contact us for your vehicle delivery needs. 1-888-653-5674 www.carstoflorida.com Reasonably priced custom car delivery made easy. We Drive and You Fly Driveaway is the driven delivery of your vehicle to your address or airport of landing. CarsToFlorida has been reliably handling Snowbird delivery since 2007. CSANews | FALL 2026 | 39
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