Canada's experience with national health insurance is examined from 1971, when a comprehensive first-dollar coverage system of benefits began in the Province of Quebec, until 1975. The study defines medical market areas in the province and asks questions about the effect of the Quebec insurance plan on the distribution of physicians, the supply of physicians, how physicians organize their practices and the composition of physician output (possible changes in hours worked or availability of appointments), the use of physician services, and cost. Economic models and statistical techniques are used to examine complicated issues such as the significance of a fixed fee schedule for physician reimbursement which prevailed in Quebec during the beginning years of national health insurance. The analyses provide policy options in the United States for influencing physician distribution. (Author/MSE)