Canadians live longer and are healthier than Americans

Canadians live about three years longer and are healthier than Americans. In a study published in BioMed Central's journal Population Health Metrics they said Canadians can expect to live until 79.7 years of age, versus 77.2 years for Americans.

A healthy 19-year-old Canadian can expect to have 52 more years of perfect health versus 49.3 more years for Americans.

There are two distinct potential explanations for the gap: differences in access to health care and in the prevalence of poverty.

Canadians have a universal healthcare service, which is free at the point of care, whereas Americans' access to health insurance is usually based on employment, income through Medicaid, or age through Medicare, and not universal, according to the study.

Healthcare expenditures also have been higher in the United States than in Canada since the 1970s.