Many Canadians fed up with healthcare waiting lists would be willing to pay more to get treatment quicker, polling for the Department of Health shows..Blacklock's Reporter said the in-house research rated the idea “controversial,” but favoured by patients fed up with rationing and wait lists..“Participants were open to some changes to how the healthcare system is structured while other changes were deemed more controversial,” said a department report..“Controversial changes included allowing Canadians to pay for services out of pocket, fearing it would create a two-tiered system, while others were open to the idea to free up capacity.”.Findings were based on focus groups with Canadians nationwide. The health department paid Earnscliffe Strategy Group $107,416 for the research..“We have to wait months and months and months,” researchers quoted one respondent. “Wait times are insane,” said another. “Staff are just way too overworked and as a result the patients are the ones who typically pay for it.”.“Most focus groups' discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of the Canadian healthcare system touched on the idea of paying for healthcare services,” said the report..“Often the discussion stemmed from frustration with their ability to access primary care. Some wished the Canadian system offered more flexibility in this respect.”.“Among those who supported the idea, the option to be able to pay for some services could even help alleviate pressure on other parts of the system.”.“Notably the healthcare services participants most often mentioned wishing they could pay to access tended to be more specialized including surgery rather than primary care. In contrast many participants were quick to oppose the idea of paying.”.Canadians overall said they were “frustrated by delays,” complained the “system is overloaded” and that “their doctor does not have time to explain their decisions or listen.”.Overall impressions of medicare were not positive, said the report. “Participants were reluctant to describe the Canadian system in purely positive terms," it said..“Even when asked to highlight the best things about it, there was some reluctance to describe the healthcare system in positive terms, overall,” wrote researchers..“The reluctance seemed to be driven by the factors that were unsatisfactory and nominated as the ‘worst things’ about the system. Most consistently these included the amount of time it takes to see a professional, access a testing facility, or get a treatment.”
