The document discusses issues with Canada's current healthcare system and proposes implementing a universal pharmacare program. It notes that Canadians are unhappy with long wait times and unequal access to care. The economic analysis shows healthcare costs are rising and life expectancy varies widely across Canada. The proposal argues pharmacare could improve access to medications at a lower cost. However, the proposal lacks data and does not clearly address if pharmacare should be incremental or implemented sooner. The response recommends increasing the number of medical students and offering standardized tests for immigrants to address shortages of healthcare professionals. It also proposes private healthcare to increase competition and a wealth tax to generate more government revenue.

1. AdhamAbdel Moneim Due:September29th
#:100865929 ECON 3820
1
Canadian Healthcare Briefing Note
Issue:
 The purpose of thisnote is to informthe Ministerthatour currenthealthcare systemisinjeopardy.Many
Canadianstodayare notsatisfiedwiththe care theyreceive fromthe currenthealthcare system.Asa resultthis
questionsif the currenthealthcare systemwillbe sustainable,affordable,andaccessibleforfuture generationsif
todayCanadiansare unhappy.
Background/Situation Analysis:
 The current healthcare systemhasaninadequate allocationof resourcesandfundsforthe reasonsstated
below:
1. Lack of physical andhumancapital creatinglongwaittimesforpatients.
2. Equal tax that increasesinequalitybetweenupper,middle,andlowerclassseparatedbymoney.
3. Healthcare servicesquantityandqualityvariesCanadawide,leavingmanyCanadianswithoutthe qualitycare
theyneedwhentheyneedit.
4. MostlyPublicallyfundedhealthcare systemratherthanprivate creatinglesscompetition,whichhashadan
adverse effectonthe qualityof healthcare provided toCanadians.
Economic Analysis:
 EconomicsanalysisshowsthatCanadiansare rankedamongone of the highestcountriesthatspendon
healthcare,withincreasingyearlyexpenditures generatinglowergovernmentrevenue. Italsoshowsalackof
properhumanand physical capital distributionacrossCanada,resultinginmajordifferencesin the Canadian life
expectancy acrossCanada. Finallythe average waittime inaprovincial CanadianER emergencyroomis
5.7hours, while thislastmonthalone hadanaverage between7to9 hoursfor majorinjuries [1].Thisresultedin
Canadiansseekinghealthcare abroadholdingCanada’shealthcare accountable.
 Economictheory showsthat if a thirdparty paysthe Canadian governmentwill notbe able tocontrol itscost
anymore.Economictheoryalsoshowsthatwithan increase inpopulationandconsumptionthere isa
proportional increase inexpenditures,decreasinggovernmentrevenue.
 Benefit-CostAnalysis showsanincrease of 7% in healthcare costsas a percentage of GDPwith Medicare
introduction.Thisbenefitresultsfromamix of publicandprivate organizationstoprovide healthcare thatis
deemedpublicallyfunded. The costisthe increase intax that decreasesCanadiansincome,while increasing
governmentspendingonthe program,whichdecreasesgovernmentrevenue.Alsotax imposedonsmoking
causeda large decrease inthe numberof smokerswhile increasinggovernmentrevenue.The costwasminimal
but showedCanadianhowheavilythe governmentdependsontaxation.Finally The creationof the federal,
provincial,territorial share of healthcare spendingincreasedfederal fundingassociatedwithgrowthcausedan
increase innational wealth,butalsocausedanincrease inhealthcare servicescost.
 Tax imposedisnotcosteffective therefore resourcesalongside physical,andhumancapital are not available to
Canadiansat theirtime of need.The costeffectivenessof the Medicare programisnotverygood,as a resultof
humanand physical capital fluctuationsacrossCanada.
Risk Analysis:
 The Keyrisksalongside theirconsequencesare summedupbelow:

2. AdhamAbdel Moneim Due:September29th
#:100865929 ECON 3820
2
1. Introductionof Pharmacare increasescountries expenditures,which needsadditional funding. ThisResultedin
Canadianscrowdingoutfortreatmentwhile governmenthavingtoreimburse.
2. Keepingabalancedtax systemthatappliestoall decreasesclassequality.The consequence of thisisupperclass
people seekingprivatecare,whilemiddle andlowerclassmustundergothe publicsystemwithlowerqualityof
healthcare.
3. Finally,the Canadianhealthcare systemquantityandqualityof service variesCanada-wide,asaresultof
disintegrationanddeficitinnumberof publichealthofficials.Asaresultthe life expectancy inCanadavaries70
and 79. The consequence islosingmore Canadians ata youngerage,as a resultof not allocatingresources
efficiently.
Option Analysis
 The available optionsimplementedorinthe processof beingimplementedare programsuchas Medicare,and
Pharmacare.These twooptionswere designedtohelpaidCanadianswiththeiraccesstoprescriptiondrugsata
cheapercost.Medicare was a successbut notsuccessful enoughdue tocentralizationinimportantterritories
rather thanCanada wide.Asa resultPharmacare issuggestedbutwill require additional funding.The additional
fundingwill be collectedthroughanincrease intax,asthe Canadianhealthcare systemreliestooheavilyon
taxation.
 Many alternative policyinstrumentscanbe implementedtohelpsolvethe mainimplicationourhealthcare
systemisfacingtoday.These policyinstrumentsare listedbelow:
1. Increase inthe numberof seatsavailable inmed-school everyyeartoincrease the healthcare workforce thus
helpwiththe humancapital deficitproblem.
2. Offera standardizedtestforimmigrants sotheycancontinue theirprofessionratherthanhave tostart all over
againafter a longtime of workand experience.Thiswill helpincrease the Canadianworkforce,andalsoofferan
incentive forimmigrantstoinvestinCanada.
3. Implementmedical savingsaccounttohelpdecrease unnecessarywaittimes.
4. Offera dedicatedtax tocitizensratherthantax increase,sothat Canadianscan directlyenforce change intheir
system.Thiswill give Canadiansanincentivetopaytax,and givesCanadiansmore control.
Assessmentofthe Proposal:
 The main strengths of thisproposal inmypointof view are listedbelow:
1. Pharmacare proposal stresses onthe factthat our healthcare systemmustprovide patientswiththe medication
theyneed,byshowingthateverydevelopedcountryhasauniversal healthcare systemexceptCanada.Thisis
importantbecause evidence showsthatsuchcountriesprovide universalcoverage atalowercost thanCanada.
Most OECD countriesofferUniversal coverage.
2. The proposal alsostressesonhow thiswouldimprove accessibility,efficiency,security,andqualityof
prescriptiondruguse inouthealthcare system.Thiswouldresultinimprovementof patienthealth andreduce
demandonpublichealthcare systems,anddramaticallylowercostswhile increasingaccesstomedicines.
3. Thisproposal alsostressesonhowCanadianspaymore medicationswhencomparedtoothercountrieswith
universal coverage.Thisincreasesannual cost,andmakesCanadianregimeunsustainable inthe longrun.
4. Thisproposal alsoshowshowa fragmentedhealthcare systemcostsavingatone pointinthe system, can often
translate intocostincrease elsewhereinthe same system. Canada’sexpenditure statisticsshow that itisamong

3. AdhamAbdel Moneim Due:September29th
#:100865929 ECON 3820
3
one of the highestspendingcountriesonhealthcare relative toothercountriesthathave universal healthcare at
a lowercost,rather thanwhat we have today.
5. Anothermainstrengthinthisproposal ishow confidential agreementscouldhave meritif we implementeda
universal Pharmacare program;thisrelievesCanadiansfromthe stressof havingtopayfor prescriptiondrugs.
 The main weaknessesof thisproposal inmypointof view are listedbelow:
1) The main weaknessof thisproposal isthe limitationsof dataprovided. Thiscreatesalackof uncertaintytowards
Pharmacare,questioningif Pharmacare isthe programwe reallyneedtoadopt, if itwill ensure thatCanadians
will have amore sustainable,affordable,andaccessible healthcare systeminthe future.
2) Alsoafterquestioningif Pharmacare shouldbe done inincremental stepsortry to make Pharmacare a sooner
reality,the proposal gave me noclearanswers.
Personal Recommendations:
 As shownabove,the Canadianhealthcare systemhasmore thanone problemthatneedstobe addressed,thus
differentsolutionsapply todifferentproblems.Please refertothe listbelow withmypersonal
recommendations,andsolutionstothe majorproblemsourhealthcare systemcurrentlyfaces:
1. To start off I recommendapolicythat increasesthe amountof Medical studentseatsavailable everysession
dependingonthe CanadiandemandforhealthservicesCanadawide. Alsotoofferastandardizedtestfor
immigrantssotheycan continue theirprofessionratherthanhave to start all over. Withwell-trainedhealthcare
officialsCanadawide thiswill helpincreasethe qualityandquantityof healthcare servicesacrossCanada,rather
than itbeinglocationorientedorcentralizedincertainlocations. Thiswilldirectlyimpactthe Canadianlife
expectancyandincrease itinareassuch as Nunavut,whichsuffersfromthe lowestlife expectancy.Thiswill also
decrease the waitingtimesbecause more Healthcare officialswill be availabletohelpCanadians. Thesepolicies
have beenadoptedbymostmiddle-easternandEuropean countries,andhave hadpositive impactson their
economy.
2. I alsorecommend andsupportthe increase of private healthcare tocreate anincreasedcompetitioninthe
healthcare market.ThisCompetitionwill directlyimpactthe healthcare quality,andalsodecrease the waiting
timesat hospitalsasa resultof itbeinglesscentralized.Increasingcompetitionincreasesemphasisonthe
qualityof healthcare beingoffered.Withanincrease inPrivate healthcare institutionsthiswill alsogenerate
some governmentrevenue frompractice permits,landownership,andtax.Finallythiswilldecreasepublic
hospital waittimes,becauseCanadiansseekinghealthcare will be dispersedbetweenpublicandprivate
healthcare institutionsratherthanonlypublic.Availabilityof more private healthcare institutionsalsooffers
more jobsfor healthcare officials.
3. FinallyIrecommendthatCanadaimplementawealth tax,whichwouldbe implementedif yournetassets were
worthmore than 1.5M CAD. As a resultthiswill create equalitybringingthe upper,middle,andlowerclasses
closerto eachotherwhile generatingahighergovernmentrevenue,thatcanbe usedto finance the first2
recommendation.France,awealthyEuropeanUnioncountryadoptsthispolicy,andestimatedagovernment
revenue growthof 4.07BilionEuros[2].Many other countriesadoptthispolicyandexperience agrowthin
governmentrevenue.
 Relatingthese recommendationstoeconomicthe economictheoriesexplainedabove;expenditurewillrise but
governmentrevenue will riseratherthanfall.Finallynow because waittimeswillbe lessthere will be no
crowdingoutfor services,soCanadiangovernmentcan control cost.Thisworkingtogethercanensure a
sustainable,affordable,andaccessible healthcare system forourfuture generations.

4. AdhamAbdel Moneim Due:September29th
#:100865929 ECON 3820
4
References:
 [1]: http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2264985-canada-s-er-wait-times-among-world-s-worst/
 [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_tax