Health care costs typical Canadian family more than 11,000 dollars per year: study

An average Canadian family of four will pay 11,494 CAD (8,792 U.S. dollars) for public health-care insurance in 2016, a new study released on Wednesday revealed.

The study, released by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, said health care in Canada isn't free, which is contrary to what many believe.

"While Canadians may not pay directly for medical services, they pay a substantial amount of money for health care through their taxes," said Bacchus Barua, senior economist in the Fraser Institute's Center for Health Policy Studies and co-author of The Price of Public Health Care Insurance.

Most Canadians are unaware of the true cost of health care because they never see a bill for medical services and may only pay a small public health insurance "premium" tax (in provinces that impose them), the study added.

Moreover, general government revenue-not a dedicated tax-funds health care, makes it difficult for Canadians to decipher how many of their tax dollars actually go towards public health insurance. However, using data from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the study finds that the average Canadian family with two parents and two children earning 122,101 CAD will pay 11,494 CAD for public health-care insurance.

Due to Canada's progressive tax system, there's great disparity in how much Canadian families pay for health care. For example, the 10 percent of Canadian families with the lowest incomes (earning 14,028 CAD on average) will pay an average of 443 CAD for public health insurance in 2016, while the families among the top 10 percent of income earners (earning 281,359 CAD on average) will pay 37,361 CAD.

"Hopefully these dollar amounts will help Canadians better understand just how much they pay for public health-care insurance and decide whether they're getting good value for their money," Barua said. Endit