The unfunded costs incurred by patients accessing plastic surgical care in Northern Saskatchewan

Abstract

The Canadian health care system was designed to ensure that all Canadian citizens would receive equal access to health care. However, in rural areas of Canada, patients are required to travel long distances and pay significant out-of-pocket expenses to access health care.

The present study attempted to quantify the added out-of-pocket costs that rural Saskatchewan residents must pay to receive plastic surgical specialist care compared with urban residents of Saskatoon. A cost analysis was performed to generate a numerical value that would represent a minimum cost for patients travelling from three different locations within the province. The cost analysis performed in the present study approximated that the unfunded costs for common plastic surgical procedures are, at a minimum, 30 times greater for rural patients in La Ronge compared with their urban counterparts in Saskatoon.

The fundamental principle of the Canadian health care system is equal access to necessary health care for all Canadians. Despite this, inequalities persist. The present cost-analysis study demonstrated that the unfunded (out-of-pocket) expenses for rural Saskatchewan patients seeking plastic surgical treatment is significantly higher than for their urban counterparts. These unfunded costs represent a significant barrier to health care access in Canada and serve to propagate inequalities in the nation's heath care system.