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.
Alberta Health Insurance Act (1935)
Canadian health policies are co-financed by the federal government and provincial/territorial programs. Health care providers are mostly private, however, universal programs are implemented by the provincial government. The federal government's role is not only limited to financing, but it also regulates medical products such as pharmaceuticals, as well as funding medical research. However, the provincial government seem to play a bigger and more direct role as 47% of health care spending in Canada is provided for by them while 22% is provided for by federal transfers. With this large amount of provincial government spending in health care and other areas, the provincial government plays a large role in Canadian governing. Provincial government expenditure seems to be increasing and this may be attributed to the change in age distribution in Canada as this can cause a greater demand for more welfare in education and health care systems.