National Health Expenditure Database metadata

Overview

The National Health Expenditure Database (NHEX) has been collecting, processing and analyzing summary data on all health spending in Canada since 1975. Health expenditures for the most recent year is also forecast.

Information from NHEX is used to facilitate provincial/territorial, national and international comparative reporting. NHEX information also supports policy planning, decision-making and research.

Find out more about health spending, including reports and analyses based on NHEX data.

Data source

NHEX data is extracted manually from diverse documents that are publicly available. These include

• National and provincial/territorial public accounts
• Other financial reports, private insurance companies and the firm AC Nielsen Canada
• Statistics Canada documents

Data coverage

NHEX contains data on health spending in Canada by spending category and source of funding.

Public sector

• Provincial/Territorial Government Sector
• Other Public Sector
  • Federal Direct Sector
  • Municipal Government Sector
  • Social Security Funds
    • Workers’ Compensation Boards
    • Premiums to Quebec Drug Insurance Fund

Private Sector

• Non-Consumption
• Out of Pocket
• Private Health Insurance
  • Commercial Insurance Firms
  • Not-for-Profit Insurance Firms

Data availability

The up-to-date comprehensive data tables are available to download on the National Health Expenditure Trends web page.

• Most recent year: 2024
• Next release: November 2025

Classification

National health expenditures in Canada are based on a system of classification consistent with international standards developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD standards are used for reporting health expenditures. For more information on the OECD (Canadian segment), refer to the OECD Data, Health web page.

Data elements

The database contains expenditure data by province/territory on more than 40 categories from

• Federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as workers’ compensation boards
• Other social security funds
• Private insurance and market research companies

Information on NHEX data elements can be found in the methodology notes (PDF).

Data quality

CIHI ensures that the quality of information in our data holdings is suited to its intended uses and that data users are provided with accurate information about data quality.

Read more about our Data and Information Quality Program.

NHEX data quality documentation can be found in the methodology notes (PDF).