Medicare (Canada)
Medicare () is an unofficial designation used to refer to the publicly funded, single-payer health care system of Canada. Canada does not have a unified national health care system; instead, the system consists of 13 provincial and territorial health insurance plans that provides universal health care coverage to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and certain temporary residents. These systems are individually administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the "Canada Health Act" and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.
Comparison of the healthcare systems in Canada and the United States
In the United States, Congress has enacted laws to promote consumer-driven healthcare with health savings accounts (HSAs), which were created by the Medicare bill signed by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003. HSAs are designed to provide tax incentives for individuals to save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses. Money placed in such accounts is tax-free. To qualify for HSAs, individuals must carry a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The higher deductible shifts some of the financial responsibility for health care from insurance providers to the consumer. This shift towards a market-based system with greater individual responsibility increased the differences between the US and Canadian systems.