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It is taken from http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/Canada.pdf)

Background Briefing: The Canadian Health Care System By Benedict Irvine and Shannon Ferguson. This briefing is based on a report by Stephen Pollard, which was commissioned by Civitas in 2002. Health care in Canada has long been a source of national pride. Known as ?medicare?, the system is publicly financed but privately run, it provides universal coverage and care is free at the point of use. The system is based on five founding principles. Care must be universal, portable, comprehensive, accessible, and publicly administered. But does medicare adhere to these principles? Many think not. Ten Systems and Five Founding Principles: The Development of Medicare Canada?s version of national public health insurance is characterised by local control, doctor autonomy and consumer choice ? patients theoretically have a free choice of physician and hospital. (Kraker, 2002). The ten provincial governments are the key providers of health care, having the constitutional responsibility for planning, financing, and evaluating the provision of hospital care, negotiating salaries of health professionals and negotiating fees for physician services. The result is that each provincial insurance plan differs slightly ? mostly in how far each extends public insurance coverage beyond medically necessary hospital and physician services (Kraker, 2002).