Canada and the United States of America (USA) have two completely different healthcare systems. In the United States, access to healthcare is limited to those who have insurance. Health care in the United States is not centralized, does not offer universal access, and has multiple providers and payers. Canada has a national program for publicly financed health insurance implemented in 1966 under the Canada Health Act (the Act) in all provinces and territories (Shi & Singh, 2001). The goal of this policy was established as “to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers” (Health Canada, 2013, para. 2 ). . The Act is not itself a national health plan but rather establishes criteria for insured health services and expanded health care to ensure that "all eligible residents of Canada have reasonable access to insured health services on a prepaid basis, without direct costs at the point-of-service level for such services” (Health Canada, 2013, para. 4) and is continually evolving based on Canadian needs. This health insurance plan is commonly referred to as Medicare and covers medically necessary hospital and doctor services on a prepaid basis. In the United States, Medicare refers to a government health program offered to people aged 65 and older, people under 65 with certain disabilities, and people of all ages with end-stage renal disease (kidney failure permanent requiring dialysis or kidney transplant). This program is not totally free as premiums and co-payments may apply to different types of coverage (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Medicare and Medicaid, 2013). The majority of funding for Canada's health program is the responsibility of each province/territory and comes from general taxes (Shi & Singh, 2001). THE