The Canadian Institute for Health Information <\/a>tracks Canada\u2019s health care spending year by year. The National Health Expenditure Trends<\/a> report details how much of Canada\u2019s GDP is spent on health care, where the money goes, and how spending varies across the country. The report also provides comparative data of Canada and its OECD counterparts. <\/span><\/p>\n Chris Kuchiak is the Manager of Health Expenditures at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. He will guide us through Canada\u2019s health care spending. <\/span><\/p>\n Currently, Canada is experiencing a spending slowdown when it comes to health care. Health spending has decreased on average by 0.6 per cent each year since 2001. The trends are comparable to decreases during the mid-1990s. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) this decrease reflects Canada\u2019s \u201cmodest economic growth and fiscal restraints as governments focus on balancing budgetary deficits.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re actually seeing a slowdown in the growth of spending on hospitals, drugs and physicians,\u201d states\u00a0Kuchiak. There are different factors that are contributing to the slow growth. For example, when you look at hospitals and physicians, there are controlling labor costs. \u201cWhereas with pharmaceuticals,\u201d explains Kuchiak, \u201cwe\u2019re seeing a \u2018holding the line\u2019 on prices of drugs and new drugs on the market. That\u2019s keeping a dampening effect on the expenditure growth.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n But just how much does Canada spend on health care each year? <\/span><\/p>\n