‘Free’ health care? We pay a lot for it, report says

A typical Canadian family of four will pay a staggering $12,935 for health care in 2018, a new Fraser Institute report suggests.

And our health-care system is far from being a free ride.

The eye-opening data was released Tuesday by the Fraser Institute. Among the findings: Most Canadians are unaware of how much the medical services they use cost because they never see a bill and may only pay a small public health insurance premium. Government revenues fund health care so it’s nearly impossible to determine how much of their taxes go toward medical care. The money comes from general government revenue. Using data culled from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the study shows a family of four with a household income of $138,008 will pay a pocketbook painful $12,935 for public health care in 2018. When adjusted for inflation, that’s 68.5% increase since 1997, the first year estimates could be calculated. A couple earning roughly $57,000 each would pay $12,878 annually while a single parent with a child earning $60,000 would pay $4,357, according to Fraser. For single Canadians earning less, the numbers are starker: Their health care costs doubled from $2,115 (in 2018 dollars) to $4,460 this year. And disparity in incomes also plays a factor. The 10% of Canadian families with the lowest incomes ($14,885 for an average household) will pay $496 for health care this year. For Canadian households in the top 10% (earning $291,364 on average), their bill will be a bill of about $38,903.