The Michigan Daily -Thursday, September 27, 1990 -Page 5
American doctors' fees twice as high as Canadians'
BOSTON (AP) - Doctors in the
United States charge more than twice
as much as Canadian physicians for
the same work, and this helps ex-
lain why this country's health care
costs are dramatically higher, a study
concludes.
The study found that despite their
fatter fees, however, U.S. doctors
earn only about one-third more than
Canadians. The reason: Canadian
doctors are busier and make up for
their lower fees by seeing more pa-
tients.
Unlike the United States, Canada
rovides complete, fully paid health
coverage for all its citizens. In the
United States, one in seven people
has no health insurance, and even
those with coverage typically have
to pay at least part of the bill. De-
spite these differences, health care
costs 20 percent more per person in
the United States than in Canada.
In attempt to help sort out the
reasons, economist Victor Fuchs of
Stanford University compared the
differences in the cost of physician
services in the two countries.
Overall, physician fees are 2.4
times higher in the United States
than in Canada. Other factors besides
doctors' earnings contribute to the
lower cost of medical care in Canada.
"If physician fees in the United
States were the same as in Canada,
by how much would total health care
expenditures be reduced?" said Fuchs.
"If the fees were cut in half and low-
ered to the Canadian level, total ex-
penditures would be reduced by about
10 percent."
Health care now accounts for
about 11.5 percent of the gross na-
tional product in the United States,
while in Canada it is about 9 per-
cent. If U.S. spending could be held
to the Canadian percentage, more
than $100 billion a year would be
saved.
His calculations, which converted
Canadian figures into U.S. dollars,
were published in Thursday's issue
of the New England Journal of
Medicine. Among the findings:
Doctors provided fewer ser-
vices per person in the United States
than in Canada.
U.S. fees for surgery and other
high-tech services, such as X-rays
and anesthesia, were more than three
times higher.
On a per capita basis, Canada
had more doctors but fewer special-
ists than the United States.
In 1985, net income for of-
fice-based doctors was $112,199 in
the United States and $73,607 in
Canada.
U.S. doctors are paid five
times more than Canadians for visit-
ing patients in a hospital.
U.S. doctors spend twice as
much as Canadians for rent and other
office expenses and generally have
nicer offices, probably helping them
to attract patients. Billing costs are
also higher in the United States be-
cause Canadian doctors need to deal
with only one insurer- the gov-
ernment.
Canadian fees are uniform for
each service within provinces and are
set through negotiations between
doctors and the government.
Fuchs said he doubts whether the
Canadian system could be adminis-
tered in the United States.
"There is reason to question
whether the quality of our civil ser-
vices is up to the quality of the
Canadian civil services," he said.
A survey by Medical Economics
magazine found that U.S. physician;
incomes rose 12.5 percent in 1989,
almost triple the rate of inflation.
Zambian ruling party ousts
those advocating democracy
.
i
t
.....
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) - Pres-
ident Kenneth Kaunda's ruling party
Tuesday suspended dissidents who
have openly supported a return to
Western-style democracy.
It was not clear how many party
members were suspended, but they
included two legislators and a labor
leader. They also were expelled from
a meeting of the policymaking body
of the United National Independence
Party (UNIP), the 600-member na-
tional council.
In ordering them to leave, Kaunda
said he did not want opponents to
hear discussions on "strategic and
important issues that will guide how
UNIP will win the next election."
One dissident, Ben Mwinga, said
in an interview that the ruling
party's legal committee will be
Continued from Page 1
TUITION
double digits from 1981 through
1984. Rates at four-year public
colleges shot up 20 percent in 1983-
84. They settled into the 5 percent to
9 percent range the past six years.
While encouraged by the gradual
easing in tuition increases, Rosser
and other college leaders say
resurgent inflation and a looming
recession could upset the pattern.
Universities in chilly northern
states, especially, will likely feel the
pinch of rising oil prices, Rosser
said.
-Daily staff writers contributed
to this report
asked to rule on whether the dis-
senters will be permanently expelled
from the party.
Another dissident, Newstead
Zimba, secretary general of the pow-
erful Zambia Congress of Trade
Unions, welcomed Kaunda's action.
"The president has made things
easier for us. Spiritually we left the
party some time ago, and physically
we were just hanging on," he said.
"The expulsion of union leaders
from the party is an expulsion of the
entire labor movement, and the
workers of this country should take
note of this," Zimba said.
Kaunda opened the five-day na-
tional council meeting Monday by
pledging to clear the way for multi-
party elections next year.
He said he was asking policy-
makers to amend the constitution td
allow opposition parties for the first
time since he imposed a one-party
state in 1973.
Kaunda called for a shake-up in
the party to prepare it for elections
in October 1991, which he said he
was confident the ruling party would
win.
Leaders of the opposition Move-
ment for Multiparty Democracy~
commended Kaunda's reforms Tues-
day, but they said further measures
- including the lifting of a 26-year-.
old state of emergency - were.
needed to lead the nation toward po-
litical stability.
"We are itching to test the
strength of this new UNIP," said
opposition spokesman Vernon"
Mwaanga, a former Cabinet minister2
and one-time Kaunda aide.
Rebel with a Pause
Daring to do what many superstitious students won't, second-year MBA student Joel Smernoff sits on the
M on the Diag, taking time to enjoy his sandwich, the company of two friends, and the afternoon weather.
*,GULF
Continued from Page 1
Iraqi Airways, due to humanitarian
considerations, facilitating the
movement of foreign nationals from
Iraq and Kuwait," he said in a state-
ment at U.N. headquarters in New
York.
"However, those flights will now
terminated in accordance with (the
air embargo)," said Kasim, who is
also the deputy prime minister.
The U.N. resolution does not
mention passenger planes but says
all planes traveling to and from Iraq
should be checked to make sure they
are not carrying cargo prohibited by
the U.N. trade sanctions. The resolu-
tion prohibits the use of force to
stop planes, but allows for the deten-
tion of aircraft.
Baghdad's official news agency
accused Moscow of being bribed by
the United States and gulf sheiks to
oppose Iraq. It said the tone of a
tough U.N. speech Tuesday by So-
viet Foreign Minister Eduard She-
vardnadze "clearly shows the bribe
given by American and its allies the
oil sheiks."
Continued from Page 1
BUDGET
White House, GOP lawmakers said
Bush was signalling compromise.
Instead of lowered capital gains tax
rates, Bush might accept other items
he believes would spur the economy,
they said.
"He might be willing to look at
other alternatives in the growth
area," said Senate Minority Leader
Bob Dole (R-Kan).
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