Toronto 
We often boast about our free health care, and we use it to justify our higher taxes, especially to our friends south of the border. But, do you know the true cost of our public health care system?
Most Canadians are unaware of the cost as general government revenue funds Canada’s public health-care system.
With wait times to access medically necessary treatment at the longest ever, Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization, in a new study suggests that the average payment this year for public health care insurance ranges from $4,907 to $15,917 for six common Canadian family types.
To find out the cost of health care insurance for the average Canadian family, Fraser Institute estimated the amount of tax an average family pays to all levels of government and the percentage of the total tax which funds healthcare.
The total tax includes income taxes (personal and business), property taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, import duties, taxes on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, fuel taxes, carbon taxes, motor vehicle licence fees, natural resource fees, and a host of other levies.
Fraser Institute found that governments will be spending an estimated 23.9 percent of tax revenues on health care in 2022/23.
Taxes versus the Necessities of Life: The Canadian Consumer Tax Index 2021 edition/Fraser Institute
Considering the total taxes paid, a typical Canadian family consisting of two parents and two children with an average household income of $156,086 will pay $15,847, single Canadians will pay $4,907, and single parents with one child will pay $5,812 for health care insurance.
Since health care is funded via various taxes, higher-income earners contribute more to the public health care system.
The 10 percent of Canadian families with the lowest incomes will pay an average of about $690 for public health care insurance in 2022.
The 10 percent of Canadian families who earn an average income of $76,704 will pay an average of $7,374 for public health care insurance, and the families among the top 10 percent of income earners in Canada will pay $41,914.
Credit: Fraser Institute
Fraser Institute says between 1997 and 2022, the cost of public health care insurance for the average Canadian family increased 3.9 times as fast as the cost of clothing, 2.2 times as fast as the cost of food, 1.8 times as fast as the cost of shelter, and 1.8 times as fast as the average income.
Publishing the report, director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author, Bacchus Barua said, “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.”
Another study – Comparing Performance of Universal Health Care Countries, 2021 – found Canada ranks very low among 28 developed countries with Universal Health Care despite spending more on health care than most other developed countries.
The detailed report is given here — The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, 2022
Frazer institute or the preston manning show wants us to adopt US style health care, just look at costs in the US compared to us. What a ponzi scheme for insurance companies that contribute to the right wing so called institute. Preston go f…k yourself.