Quote:
Originally Posted by Nehkara
You can already pay more for services in Canada if you want them faster and you can also buy private health insurance... it is not a 100% monopoly by the government and you are sensationalizing that aspect just as much as others (myself included) sensationalize the "CANADA vs AMERICAN" arguement.
If we built our health care system (privatization included) on European nations then I would be happy, most of them seem to function well.
But whenever a politician comes up with a plan to privatize some of our services, it seems to be with an eye to the south and I don't think that can be allowed. We should have nothing to do with that debacle.
|
Granted, but what services??? and Insurance for what??? and who decides??
I can pay 40 bucks a night for a private room at Foothills Hospital, true.
I can buy insurance to cover prescription drugs, absolutely.
The monopoly is a virtual one, not a comprehensive one....and I should have chosen my words more carefully. I shouldn't have said the government has a 'complete monopoly on health care services', I should have said the 'government completely monopolizes the services it offers'.
If the government covers it, they have a monopoly on it. You cannot, by law, purchase health care coverage for services that are provided for within the government system (like essential surgeries, or doctors' fees).
The only things you can buy, and indeed have to buy, for yourself are those services that the government has "delisted" - and these "private" services account for about 30% of all health care spending in Canada. Of the total health care expenditures in Canada, 70% are paid for by the government. In the US the government covers 40% of all health care expenditures, I think.
As for Canadian politicians looking to the south - when Ralph Klein introduced the Third Way, the whole point was to NOT follow the American model. The point was to find another option, a better way of doing things, a more efficient, and more cost-effective way....a THIRD WAY. But he got shouted down by the fear-mongering of those who cried "American-Style Health Care", and would not even allow the debate to take place. And those people are just as guilty of putting ideology above patients as are the capatalists of the US insurance companies we so greatly abhor.
I'm not advocating for carte blanche privatization...but rather, lets look at all possible options to reduce wait times, improve access, and improve outcomes in Canada. I just hate it when anti-Americanism is what dictates health policy in this country. And I'm honestly not trying to sensationalize the debate, I just want to have the debate......and I'm very glad to see that most people here seem to want the same.