Universal health care "concern trolls" . .

[pnwmom]

45. It by definition is NOT "single" payer. Each PROVINCE has its own plan,

and some of them use a mixture of public and private -- as your quote above indicates. And in some provinces a higher % of costs is covered by private insurance than in other provinces.

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/canada-s-health-care-system-overview-public-and-private-participation.html

Under Canadian federalism, the federal and provincial levels of government enjoy their own jurisdictions or areas of public policy. In many cases, one level of government has exclusive authority in a particular area of public policy. What does this have to do with Canada’s health care system? Under the Canadian constitution, health care falls largely under the authority of the provinces. Only provincial governments have the power to pass laws governing the financing and delivery of health services to the majority of Canadians. This, in turn, has had important implications for the Canadian health care system. Instead of developing a national system that is centrally administered and uniform across the country, Canada has essentially developed several provincial health care systems which differ significantly in structure and operation. In sum, one cannot speak of Canadian health care as a “single system,” but as a “patchwork” of provincial regimes.

SNIP

The Canadian health care system can be characterized as a mix of public and private participation. At the outset, it is necessary to define the ideas of “public” and “private,” and the different ways the public and private sectors can and do participate in a health care system.

SNIP

In examining the public/private mix of health care financing, it is useful to begin by looking at health expenditures. Health care costs in Canada are predominantly financed by the public sector. In 2007, for example, Canada spent $138 billion on health care, or $4,400 per person (US$ at 2007 exchange rate). Of that total, public sector expenditures amounted to $97 billion or 70 percent. Private sector spending, by contrast, amounted to $41 billion or 30 percent of total expenditures.