The Struggle for Universal Health Care

Since I picked up an inner-ear infection a week ago, I've been thinking about the healthcare system. It took me 30 minutes and ultimately cost me $11 to receive the diagnosis and get the antibiotics required to clear it up. All thanks to the Canadian single-payer healthcare system.

Tommy Douglas said it best: "Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world." Douglas knew first-hand about the struggle to being universal healthcare to the people. Thanks to Douglas' work in Saskatchewan as politician and later Premier, all Canadians now have access to what I personally consider the best health care system in the world.

Is it perfect? Nothing man-made is. In many of our major cities, and even in smaller places there are extensive lines in Emergency Rooms and too few hospital beds. Waiting lists for non-critical procedures can be extensive as well. In some cases people look for a private for-profit solution, paid for out of their own pocket rather than wait. I myself did that several years ago after my car accident--I elected to have a private MRI done to examine the damage to my back an neck when I wasn't satisfied with the initial diagnosis. But more and more my experience with the Canadian system is one of quiet competence, and better yet, affordability. On the occasion we need to see a doctor, my daughter and I go the neighborhood clinic. The wait time is rarely long, even when the waiting room is full, and I am more than pleased with the standard of care we have received. I'm a big proponent of these sorts of walk-in clinics, and believe they are key to solving the issues with ER wait times and reduce the load on the system so long as people who are in moderate medical need go to the clinic as opposed to the ER.

Bed shortages and procedure wait-times are a separate issue, and one that requires more than simply changing personal habits. We need to find a way to increase the money going to the healthcare system without breaking the bank or de-listing services. It might be easy to simply say 'raise taxes' but I think that we need to look at things more creatively. We've been able to reduce drug costs simply by using the government's weight to negotiate better rates from drug companies--without needing to raise premiums. It's time for Canadians, and most especially, their politicians to think outside the box to solve this problem. Canadians need a system that will survive for they and their children, and ideological fist-fights over what to do mixed with political posturing and short-sightedness are a toxic mix. Lets be practical people.

Americans need a system too--and one that is fundamentally more equitable than their current one. The fight south of the border over universal healthcare is heating up, and opponents are all the usual suspects. Sadly many American politicians who should be on the side of universal healthcare are either dragging their feet or actively sabotaging it. With a single payer plan like Canada, the US would find itself far more competitive economically when it comes to worker's benefits. Part of GMs problems are based on having to bear legacy health costs negotiated in their contracts with the unions. Now while many would simply say turf the unions a more practical view has to be taken regarding worker health--for without healthy skilled workers, what sort of quality are you producing? Who want's to buy poor quality goods--and who could afford to if forced into low income realities due to poor wages, or outrageous healthcare bills.

Single payer universal healthcare makes sense economically and socially. I urge the Americans to continue to look at the Canadian example--the Tommy Douglas example--in their fight for their own system. You will be inundated with stories of where the system has failed Canadians--and sad or frustrating as they are, and as much as they do need to be dealt with, don't for a moment think that these examples are any more than exceptions that prove the rule. 30+ million Canadians use our system, and by and large they are as satisfied with it as I am.

There is still work to be done here--practical work. The struggle never ends, but with a bit of that courage we can build a better world.

Sean