A method of health care financing in which there is only one source of money for paying health care providers. The Canadian-style system is the prime example of a single-payer plan, but not all elements of the Canadian program need be included for a plan to be “single-payer”; in fact, the single-payer could be an insurance company. Or the scope of the plan would not have to be national; it could be employed by a single state or community. Proponents of a single-payer plan emphasize the administrative simplicity for patients and providers, and the resulting significant savings in cost.