“If we can’t afford public care, we sure as hell can’t afford private care," Canadian health policy expert Raisa Deber quipped during a meeting some years ago in Toronto. It is one of the few truisms in health care.
The Oct. 24 editorial “Draft health bill: NDP rewrite puts system over patient" reveals the editor's biases toward a system that cares about profits over patients.
Clearly, the editorialist has bought into the myths of private sector as saviour. Yet, there is no peer-reviewed research to support such a strong position — it is simply ideology. These notions were termed “zombies" by B.C.
Health economist Bob Evans 20 years ago said no matter how often you quash a nonsensical idea, it keeps coming back.
Those who follow the healthcare debate know that “patient choice" is a euphemism in the U.S. used to perpetuate bloated private administrations — all the while ensuring that a population over twice the size of Canada is under-insured or uninsured.