| U.S. can benefit from shifting to a Canada-style healthcare system, researcher says |
| Wednesday, 01 June 2011 09:24 |
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The healthcare reforms proposed by President Barack Obama are expected to have significant effects on Americans' well-being. According to Jacalyn Duffin, a professor of medicine at Queen's University, these changes - which reflect some of the aspects of Canada's medical system - will also benefit doctors in the U.S., whose incomes will most likely increase. Duffin collected data on the average net salaries of physicians in Canada over a 155-year time span, from 1850 to 2005. She observed a significant increase in earnings between 1950 and 1970, following the country's establishment of a publicly-funded, universal health insurance system. She noted that after a decade of adjustment, the model - known as medicare - continued to enhance doctors' salaries."Physician's incomes grew more quickly than those of other Canadian professions following medicare," she explained. "The universal, single-payer system has been good not only for Canadians, but also for Canada's doctors." Duffin reported that physicians in Canada generally charge lower fees for services and earn less than their counterparts in the U.S., but that they typically experience lower practice expenses due to reduced cost of administration, billing and malpractice coverage. |
