http://secure.cihi.ca/
This is the site for national healthcare data and it has a report there on stats for Canada for 2005 - tables also compare the GDP with that of 10 other countries and on a per capita basis. The US consistently outspends all other listed countries for healthcare and site after site reports the least satisfaction by Americans for their system. There are tables there that indicate spending costs for 20 years and since these rates are linked to taxes paid then that should the best indicator of increases for that period of time.
This from the USA National Tables as below -
>>>In relation to other countries, the US spends the most on health care, in both dollars and in the total share of economic activity. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, while the US spends roughly 13% of its GDP, Switzerland spends 10.7%, Germany spends 10.6%, Canada spends 9.1%, Japan spends 7.8%, and the United Kingdom spends 7.3% (6). Even though the high expenditure in the US may be equated with superior medical treatment, in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality, the health of the average American is below that of other industrialized nations. Data from the WHO in Table 2 show that in 1997, the US ranked 37 th in health system performance in comparison to other major nations (5). Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that in the year 2008, the NHE will reach $2.055 trillion. This estimate amounts to encompass 14.4% of the GDP
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According to a Harris Poll of all industrial nations, Americans are the least satisfied with their health care.
An economic overview of America's system is: 42 million people are not covered, the various health care plans place rigid limitations on which doctors and hospitals people can use, cost-saving measures are forcing patients out of hospital beds prematurely, administrative costs are approaching 25% of the health care dollar, managed care is generally structured such that physicians have incentives to cut costs and gain revenue by withholding care, and many Americans live in fear of losing whatever care they have.
Our current system is based on the power of the insurance industry to stifle any challenges from alternatives. They advocate a competitive environment where they set the rules. These rules give us health care at a very high cost with unusually high profits going to the health care industry and massive salaries going to the associated executives.
In contrast, the single payer system that Canada has used for the last 25 years has drastically simplified their administration costs. For instance, it takes more people to administer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts that it does to administer the entire health care system of Canada. Before Canada implemented their national health program, their health costs were the same portion of their economy as in the U.S. After they implemented their program, their costs stabilized at 9% while U.S. costs have increased to 14%. They spend one tenth of what U.S. health care providers spend on overhead.
