Our usual response is generally apathy because we have become immune to the constant media barrage of bad news …. until the day that a medical crisis hits us, or someone close to us!
Any suggestion of a "2-tier Health Care System" commonly elicits responses of fear that the fable of Canada being home to "the best health care system in the world" would prove untrue. Cynics, 'statists' and 'bleeding-heart' liberals acclaim loudly that our sick and dying would only have timely access to needed medical services based on their ability to pay, and the poor would be left out in the cold.
Well, at the risk of prompting responses of hysterical resistance, I wish to propose an idea that lays out a new approach to a "2-tier Health Care System" with a twist. I must re-emphasize that this is only a suggested approach and not a finalized program. The ideas below will need lots of work and discussion if they are to work, but the general approach is what is important.
The Proposed Scenario:
- For patients who are unable to secure the services of a Personal or Family Physician, they are free to use the services of a PS (Pay-for-Service) Physician if their own OHIP-covered Physician is unable to see them within 48 hours. This option can be chosen in lieu of attending a hospital Emergency department or OHIP-covered drop-in clinic if so desired.
- For patients that require access to a Medical Specialist, they are free to see a PS (Pay-for-Service) Physician Specialist, if an OHIP-covered Specialist is unable to treat them within 72 hours. It is better that patients seek local help that feel that their only option is to leave Canada to find the care urgently needed.
- Any Medical Doctor who can submit proof of Medical School graduation from any other country in the world, but who has not received a license to practice in Ontario, can also offer PS (Pay-for-Service) Medical Services. The onus will be on the patient to decide if the service is worth the fee charged. In addition, PS (Pay-for-Service) Physicians will be free to charge fees that will attract and retain patients. They will also be legally required to carry medical malpractice insurance to protect the patients they treat. In general, the "buyer beware" principle will apply in the relationship between patient and PS Physician.
- Supply and demand will determine the viability of the Second Tier PS Physicians' practices — the best will thrive and the worst will fail as in any market. Since Toronto has immigrants from virtually every country on earth, it is likely that many of these immigrants will be willing to trust a PS Physician from their homeland if they have the means to pay the medical fee. New PS Physicians may opt to charge low fees when they first begin to practice and adjust their rate schedules as their practice becomes more successful.
This proposed approach may appear radical to many of you, but it has its merits. These include:
- Foreign-trained doctors can be legally employed in Ontario to practice their profession.
- Patients will have another local avenue to explore in order to receive prompt medical attention rather than waiting and fretting while their medical conditions worsen.
- The OHIP system will face real competition for the first time. The likely outcome will be shorter waiting lists as patients find successful treatments from PS Physicians, or it will increase the interest of OHIP-covered MDs in seeking ways to serve their patients in a timely manner.
- Ontario will attract and retain foreign-trained medical professionals when they learn that the Public Sector Health Care Monopoly has loosened its grip to make room for them to practice.
In Ontario, one thing is clear - the current Health Care Monopoly is rapidly becoming unaffordable. Conditions will only get worse over the next 30 years as demands on the system rise in response to the increasing needs of our aging population. The status quo can only lead to 2 possible outcomes:
- Our ever-rising Health Care costs will bankrupt the province, OR
- Our Health Care Monopoly will be forced to ration even more health care services than it already has, and this will inevitably lead to either longer waiting lists or medical conditions than will no longer be covered under OHIP.
We can ignore the inevitable and wait for this medical tsunami to hit our shores, or we can act now to implement a Pay-for-Service alternative similar to the approach suggested above. When the tsunami hits, it will likely be our only lifeboat.
The Ontario Libertarian party is The Party of Choice for good reason. We believe in the power of free markets to out-perform government monopolies because history confirms this belief a thousand times over. From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution until today, the standard of living we all enjoy today is the direct result of the collective efforts of many generations of entrepreneurs who have continued to win the trust and pocketbooks of people by solving their problems for a profit.
Its time to provide the people of Ontario the power to choose other health care options than those solely supplied by our existing Heath Care Monopoly.
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