Canada Beginning to Privatize Health Care System

[Frodo]

Ruling Has Canada Planting Seeds of Private Health Care

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: February 20, 2006

TORONTO, Feb. 19 — The cracks are still small in Canada's vaunted public health insurance system, but several of its largest provinces are beginning to open the way for private health care eventually to take root around the country.

Last week Quebec proposed to lift a ban on private health insurance for several elective surgical procedures, and announced that it would pay for such surgeries at private clinics when waiting times at public facilities were unreasonable.

The proposal, by Premier Jean Charest, who called for "a new era for health care in Quebec," came in response to a Supreme Court decision last June that struck down a provincial law that banned private medical insurance and ordered the province to initiate a reform program within a year.

The Supreme Court decision ruled that long waits for various medical procedures in the province had violated patients' "life and personal security, inviolability and freedom," and that prohibition of private health insurance was unconstitutional when the public health system did not deliver "reasonable services."

The decision applied directly only to Quebec, but it has generated movement for private clinics and private insurance in several provinces where governments hope to forestall similar court decisions.

source

[opebo]

That's is unfortunate for Canadians, at least the non-wealthy.

[Cubby]

This is all Harper's fault   boo!!!!!!!!!!!



Just kidding Gabu, Earl AW, etc. 

[dazzleman]

Interesting news.  I have never believed in a public health care system, but it's always been presented as inevitable at some point in the future.  It's interesting to see a country that presently has one starting to have some doubts about it in certain areas.

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

I see no problem with it. Keep the state health care around but allow private healthcare to exist. Hell if you want you can even put a tax on it to generate more funds for the state healthcare system. And note beofre anyone jumps in and thinks my economic score should be left of center let me remind them that just because I oppose most governmnet involvement doesn't mean I oppose it ALL.

[MasterJedi]

Interesting news.  I have never believed in a public health care system, but it's always been presented as inevitable at some point in the future.  It's interesting to see a country that presently has one starting to have some doubts about it in certain areas.

^^^^^^

I can't wait to see what Earl has to say about this!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Interestingly private healthcare was never illegal over here (it was part of the deal to stop the doctors striking when the NHS was set up; Bevan called it "stuffing their mouths with gold" or words to that effect. In the long run it's been quite useful, as the NHS can dump certain minor operations onto the private sector and concentrate more on ill people/a&e) and I don't think it was or is in any other E.U country...

[Hatman 🍁]

Interesting news.  I have never believed in a public health care system, but it's always been presented as inevitable at some point in the future.  It's interesting to see a country that presently has one starting to have some doubts about it in certain areas.

^^^^^^

I can't wait to see what Earl has to say about this!

We don't have doubts, we just have people who don't believe in it, and are trying to change things by putting doubt in our minds. Health care reform is necessary, but privitization is not necessarily the answer.

[dazzleman]

Interesting news.  I have never believed in a public health care system, but it's always been presented as inevitable at some point in the future.  It's interesting to see a country that presently has one starting to have some doubts about it in certain areas.

^^^^^^

I can't wait to see what Earl has to say about this!

We don't have doubts, we just have people who don't believe in it, and are trying to change things by putting doubt in our minds. Health care reform is necessary, but privitization is not necessarily the answer.

Maybe, but since Canada is an oft-cited example by those in the US who claim that going to a public system will solve all our problems, it does tend to undermine that line of thinking.

[Hatman 🍁]

Interesting news.  I have never believed in a public health care system, but it's always been presented as inevitable at some point in the future.  It's interesting to see a country that presently has one starting to have some doubts about it in certain areas.

^^^^^^

I can't wait to see what Earl has to say about this!

We don't have doubts, we just have people who don't believe in it, and are trying to change things by putting doubt in our minds. Health care reform is necessary, but privitization is not necessarily the answer.

Maybe, but since Canada is an oft-cited example by those in the US who claim that going to a public system will solve all our problems, it does tend to undermine that line of thinking.

No system is perfect, but most are better than the American system. Well, at least if you're poor. If you are rich, the American health care system is the best in the world.

[dazzleman]

No system is perfect, but most are better than the American system. Well, at least if you're poor. If you are rich, the American health care system is the best in the world.

Well, you hit the nail on the head, sort of.  The American system works relatively well for the majority of people who have coverage.  And this majority is essentially not willing to degrade their own health care quality to help the minority without coverage.