CALGARY — A new study is demonstrating just how much taxpayers actually pay for public healthcare, revealing its cost surpasses most other living essentials — including the price of food and shelter.The study conducted by the Fraser Institute compared public healthcare insurance prices from 1997 to 2026, finding public healthcare costs have increased 2.3 times as fast as food, 1.7 times as fast as income, and 1.5 times as fast as the cost of shelter.More than that, the price the average family will pay for public healthcare is between $6,464 and $21,115 in 2026 alone. In terms of income, the 10% of Canadians in the lowest tax bracket earning — $17,654 or less — will end up paying $637 for healthcare out of their pockets. .As the tax rate increases, so too does the amount of money public healthcare receives from taxpayers.Around the fifth tax bracket, Canadian families earning $88,572 will have to pay $8,644 of their income toward healthcare.Canadian families in the top 10% of income earners, those making $454,221 and above, will pay $66,350 to fund the healthcare system in 2026.As for how this money is allocated to healthcare, the Fraser Institute says it's often not determined by taxpayers.."Canadians often misunderstand the true cost of our public health care system.""This occurs partly because Canadians do not incur direct expenses for their use of health care, and partly because Canadians cannot readily determine the value of their contribution to public health care insurance," the authors of the study explained.Another reason they say Canadians do not realize the cost of their public healthcare, is because the physician and hospital services that are covered by tax-funded health care insurance are free at the point of use."This can cause Canadians to "underestimate" the real cost of healthcare.
