A new international ranking places Canada’s health-care system second to last out of 20 advanced nations, despite having the fourth-highest health-care spending relative to GDP. The Consumer Choice Center’s Healthcare Time Saved Index reveals that Canada lags behind on nearly every metric that measures system efficiency, access, and patient experience.
While Denmark and the Netherlands topped the index with scores of 60 out of 75, Canada limped in with just 20 points—beating only Ireland. The report cites painfully long wait times, limited access to basic services, and a shortage of primary care physicians as major contributing factors. Canadian patients wait a median of 210 days for elective surgery and spend an average of 68 minutes per in-clinic visit—the highest delay among all ranked countries.
The authors noted that countries with high-performing systems, such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, blend public and private care while protecting access for low-income patients. In contrast, Canada’s rigid public-only model appears unable to meet demand, even as costs balloon.
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