Pressured by an aging population and the need to rein in budget deficits, provinces are taking tough measures to curb healthcare costs, a trend that could erode the principles of the popular state-funded system.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, kicked off a fierce battle with drug companies and pharmacies when it said earlier this year it would halve generic drug prices and eliminate “incentive fees” to generic drug manufacturers.
British Columbia is replacing block grants to hospitals with fee-for-procedure payments and Quebec has a new flat health tax and a proposal for payments on each medical visit, an idea that critics say is an illegal user fee.
And a few provinces are also experimenting with private funding for procedures such as hip, knee and cataract surgery.
You may have heard about the system they wrote about in that last sentence. It is a revolutionary product called “Privately Purchased Health Insurance” and, believe it or don’t, but people actually pay for that directly out of their own pocket.
I know. Sounds barbarian, doesn’t it?
One half of my extended family is Canadian so I’ve been hearing about their system for years.
The Canadian system is outstanding if you don’t think about how it’s paid for and never have any serious medical issues. Births are paid for, and managed in a regimented fashion. Basic check-ups run smoothly.
But beyond that – if you experience an anomaly such as old age or disease – it’s fucking terrible. Such issues are not accounted for in the scheme of things and they are addressed in the same fashion that anything in a bureaucracy is addressed – time, waits, processes, etc. that do not address the problem but follow the process. Want to get diagnosed accurately and be treated? Go to the US.