Socialized Medicine Is Good For You

Nyah Nyah. Michael Moore got it right.

It's gotta be true it's an American study!

Canadians healthier than Americans, study says

Updated Tue. May. 30 2006 5:07 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadians are healthier and have better access to health care than U.S. residents. And, according to a new study, Canadians obtain better care for half of what Americans spend on their medical system.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, was conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers. They also found that:

• Canadians were seven per cent more likely to have a regular doctor
• Canadians were 19 per cent less likely than Americans to have their health needs go unmet.
• Americans were more than twice as likely to forgo needed medicines because of cost.

Discrepancies in health care become even wider when taking into account income, age, sex, race and immigrant status. In those kind of detailed comparisons, Canadians were 33 per cent more likely to have a regular doctor and 27 per cent less likely to have an unmet health need.

Meanwhile, Americans had higher rates of nearly every serious chronic disease, including obesity, diabetes and chronic lung disease, even though U.S. residents were less likely to be smokers.

"We pay almost twice what Canada does for care, more than $6,000 for every American, yet Canadians are healthier, and live two to three years longer," said Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor at Harvard and study co-author.

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