Study reveals that the cost of healthcare has risen far faster than incomes in the last 25 years
There has never been a more concentrated focus on health and wellbeing than there is now.
But how much does the average Canadian pay, through various taxes, for the public healthcare that most of us rely on throughout our lives?
According to a new study from the Fraser Institute, a family of two adults and two children with a household income of an average $156,086 will pay an estimated $15,847 for public healthcare in 2022.
With most of the funding for public healthcare coming from general taxation, most Canadians are unaware of the cost outside of those that are employer-collected or provincial contributions.
Even couples without dependent children will pay an estimated $15,229, while single Canadians will pay $4,907 and single parents with one child will pay $5,812.
“Canadians pay a substantial amount of money for health care through a variety of taxes—even if we don’t pay directly for medical services,” said Bacchus Barua, director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, 2022.
Fast-rising
The study also reveals how much the cost of public healthcare has risen since 1997, the first year for which records are available.
While household income in the 25-year-period have grown by 116%, the cost of public healthcare has surged by 210%.
“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,” Barua said.
