New Fraser Institute Research: Health-care costs for typical Canadian family will reach almost $18,000 this year
August 20 2024 - 5:00AM
A typical Canadian family of four will pay an estimated $17,713 for
public health-care insurance this year, finds a new study released
today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan
Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Canadians pay a substantial amount of money for health care
through a variety of taxes—even if we don’t pay directly for
medical services,” said Nadeem Esmail, senior fellow at the Fraser
Institute and co-author of The Price of Public Health Care
Insurance, 2024.
Most Canadians are unaware of the true cost of health care
because they never see a bill for medical services, may only be
aware of partial costs collected via employer health taxes and
contributions (in provinces that impose them), and because general
government revenue—not a dedicated tax—funds Canada’s public
health-care system.
The study estimates that a typical Canadian family consisting of
two parents and two children with an average household income of
$176,266 will pay $17,713 for public health care this year. Couples
without dependent children will pay an estimated $16,528. Single
Canadians will pay $5,629 for health care insurance, and single
parents with one child will pay $5,345.
Since 1997, the first year for which data is available, the cost
of healthcare for the average Canadian family has increased
substantially, and has risen more quickly than its income. In fact,
the cost of public health care insurance for the average Canadian
family increased 2.2 times as fast as the cost of food, 1.6 times
as fast as the cost of housing, and 1.7 times as fast as the
average income.
“Understanding how much Canadians actually pay for health care,
and how much that amount has increased over time, is an important
first step for taxpayers to assess the value and performance of the
health-care system, and whether it’s financially sustainable,”
Esmail said.
MEDIA CONTACT: Nadeem Esmail, Senior Fellow
Fraser Institute
Bacchus Barua, Director of Health Policy StudiesFraser
Institute
To arrange media interviews or for more information, please
contact:Bryn Weese, 604-688-0221 ext. 721,
drue.macpherson@fraserinstitute.org
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy
research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver,
Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of
think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality
of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by
studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of
government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their
well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not
accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit
www.fraserinstitute.org