Let's have an adult conversation about the Canadian healthcare system and how it needs to evolve to meet today's needs. The only way I can see this being successful is furthering the conversation on a public-private partnership. Not everybody will like this, but let's be realistic: The system is failing and has been for quite some time..I posted a twitter poll months ago asking the question “Would you support a mixed public-private healthcare system?”, just to see how informed people are about the healthcare system. The responses were mixed suggest that only 17% of the people were aware that Canada already has a private health care option. The results of the poll showed well over 80% of people were in favor, but let's again be realistic, this is a twitter poll which is usually limited. However, it’s about as scientific as the media polls you see online which are easily manipulated should that ‘subset’ of people I mentioned earlier, get ahold of it. Regardless, various polling suggests a vast majority of Canadians surveyed, 85 per cent, now say they believe “drastic changes” are needed to the health care system..For those who don’t know, Premier Tommy Douglas established Canada's first government-funded healthcare service in 1947, in Saskatchewan. This was eventually followed by similar programs in some of the provinces and eventually expanded to involve all of them. Lester Pearson’s Liberal government introduced the federal Medical Care Act: It was passed in 1968 and accepted by all provinces and territories by 1972. And in 1984 the Canada Health Act, was passed, which brings us to today. However, unmet healthcare needs remain prevalent in Canada’s universal healthcare system..It is hard to determine when the private healthcare system started in Canada, that is an arrangement that meshes both private for-profit insurance and private out-of-pocket financing. Various provincial boards and reports were structured to deal with issues related to backlogs, and solutions such as private healthcare delivery were deemed necessary. And today in Canada, healthcare spending is divided between the public and private sector at a 75% to 25% split..So where am I going with this?.Canadians are increasingly concerned about the system's performance. It is obvious, based on polling, that the system is broken and has been for many years. In business, when we have high expenditures and low results, we must admit the model is broken and either shut it down or restructure with a new business plan. Even in Alberta, the government increased its health budget last year by four per cent to $23 billion (2022) for which we have the most expensive health system in the country, with some of the lowest results. The solution is not throwing more money at the problem like the Alberta NDP has suggested..There are various groups that rank healthcare and depending on the year, Canada's comes in at either 12th or 14th in the world. Other surveys comparing wait times in Canada to other developed countries rank Canada near the bottom of the list for access to services such as elective surgery, specialist consultation and diagnostic imaging. The top ones — such as Taiwan, Austria, France, Spain, Australia, and Belgium — employ a balanced public and private system..And, before you assume, I am not suggesting private healthcare should replace our public healthcare system. Urgent care should be treated in the public system in a timely manner without any additional costs and those who can afford to do so can access the private option. No, this is ‘not a rich person’s thing’ or ‘allowing people to jump the queue.’ This includes self-employed, or hard-working individuals, who suffer pain and are unable to work while they endure the long wait lists for consultation with a specialist, or for surgery. I recall a colleague of mine whose 63-year-old wife needed a hip replacement, but the wait in Canada was 2 years. They made the decision to travel to Switzerland and pay for surgery at their expense in under 3 weeks. Her quality of life was crucial to her and the thought of living with a prolonged disability, depression or other unnecessary consequences was not..So why not review the world's top healthcare strategies and implement those best practices? Let's allow private care providers to take a more active role in delivering care within the public system. The benefits are clearing up surgical backlogs, which would improve capacity. What is so wrong with establishing a Canadian Private Health Care Plan? With the higher numbers of immigration into Canada, can we not focus on skills which include healthcare providers and why isn’t there an equivalency exam for those professionals to apply their skills? Let publish wait times and give choice back to Canadians so they can compare and choose accordingly?.In Canada, we (allegedly) have freedom of choice. Why does that not apply to healthcare?
