It always struck me odd why Canadians are so often disappointed after using one of the most expensive and least performing health care systems in the world.  The reason is simple. Our set up is based on the communist template.  Under the communist system, the state is the monopolistic supplier and the victim, in this case we’ll call them patients, are a source of cost not revenue. Costs are to be controlled thus “service” must be rationed.  What a patient in this system is NOT is a customer.  Under a competition based system the customer is king or queen. Under a state monopoly the “user” is at the bottom of the service hierarchy preceded by the politicians at the top, followed by the government bureaucrats, the hospital administrators, the doctors, the health care employees and their unions.  The lowly patient is left begging with no alternative but to wait 4 to 8 to 12 plus hours in a hospital emergency room, or visit a mediocre-at-best health clinic, or wait for an appointment with his or her general practitioner , if lucky enough to have one, and then hope against hope that should a medical specialist be required, an appointment can be had within a few months or less.  Should the malady be one that requires immediate attention to avoid further damage, there is a good chance that the patient will not receive it. The victim will never know that damage has been done as a result though. Want a second opinion?  Good luck.  Its pretty much certain that the medical systems in North Korea and Cuba are much the same as our own, since they are run based on the same system. 

I can tell you first hand, having lived and worked in the U.S., Europe and Latin America for almost twenty years, that the U.S. system, while not perfect, works very well.  When I moved to Pennsylvania in 1993, we were “pestered” by several soliciting phone calls from various local doctors’ offices requesting us to sign up with them as customers.  There’s that word again…”customer”.   The office of the doctor we chose was open for business six days a week and on call Sundays. They were open in the evenings until 8:00pm.  Specialists’ offices were located all around the area and it was certainly no problem seeing one. Often my doctor was available for me to call him during the day.He would normally return my calls within 15 minutes. He would even prescribe simple medication over the phone.  My doctor had to work to keep me as a customer or I certainly would exercise my right to go elsewhere.

In Europe, the state and private sector work well together.  In both the U.S. and European systems, the cost of private health care is affordable by the vast majority of people.  In the U.S. at age 65, all citizens become eligible for Medicare health and drug coverage. 

Here in Canada we are held as political solutions for a young Tommy Douglas’ medical problems circa 1919.  On this subject I feel that most Canadians are viewing the sky from the bottom of a well.  What they see is but an infinitesimal slice of what the world really has to offer in the way of health care in the 21^st century.

If the objective is “to provide the best health care at the most affordable cost” then why are we wedded to a politically driven solution?

The “third rail” of Canadian politics is health care; touch it at your peril no doubt. But one thing going for all of us poor tax paying drones, is the absolute knowledge that the status quo will not be affordable, that is, sustainable unless all of our national wealth is re-directed to supporting it within the next twenty years.  One day, the political class of this nine province nation will be forced to partner with private health care providers to avoid national bankruptcy. However, let’s hope the present system doesn’t kill us before that emancipation arrives…

Mickey Moulder