Dr. Brian Turner:

There are a few things going on in that figure. The subsidy element is one. By and large, private health insurance gives people benefits for hospital treatment. In recent years there has been more of a focus on giving money back on day to day benefits, such as GP visits, physiotherapy, optical and dental services. There would not be the same kind of spending from private health insurance on items such as prescription drugs, long-term care and social services, or the social end of health care visits. They are focused on hospital services more so than other areas of the health system. Even within that, there is a subsidy as well. Approximately 13% of health care funding in 2014 came from private health insurance despite the fact that 46% of people were covered. There is a mismatch there in the allocation of funds.