As Paul's note illustrates the doctor's strike was in the province of Saskatchewan that first introduced medicare. There is no universal federal scheme in Canada just the provisions of the Canada Health Act that require all provincial plans to have certain universal features. The Act excludes most dental care, long term care, and pharmacare. Provincial plans vary as to how much they cover but generally the Canadian plan is far less extensive than most European plans. One feature of the Canada Health Act that is not copied by most European plans is the illegality of co-pays. The new head of the Canadian Medical Association by the way is for a two tier system and more private medical care and he was democratically elected by the doctors so attitudes of doctors may be changing. One big problem of the Canadian system is that the federal government is paying less and less of the cost of the system so that poorer provinces are hard pressed to keep their services up to snuff.
Cheers, Ken Hanly --- Paul Phillips <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Indeed, I was a participant in the "Saskatchewan > civil war" when the (or > I should say, some) doctors went on strike against > the introduction of > comprehensive, compulsory medical insurance in, I > think it was, 1961. > My family's doctors supported the insurance scheme > and opposed the > strike. Some of the doctors and their supporters > even threatened > violence in opposing public insurance but cooler > heads prevailed, some > compromises were made, and the doctors went back to > work -- as one > doctor I know put it, "before people realized that > they got better > despite us, not because of us." (Indeed, the death > rate fell in > Saskatchewan during the doctors' strike.) A year or > so later, polls of > doctors opinions found a majority in favour of > 'socialized (sic) > medicine' as is still overwhelmingly true today. > That is not to say that there is no > disastisfaction with the > Canadian system. Almost all of the problems can be > traced back to the > first half of the 1990s when neoliberal governments > at both national and > provincial levels cut funding drastically for the > healthcare system to > reduce government deficits and cut taxes as deficits > ballooned in the > deep recession of the early 1990s. Medical schools > drastically reduced > the intake of medical students and hospital beds > were closed and nurses > and aides, etc. were sacked. Immediately, waiting > lists appeared and > the problems with the system became more pronounced. > I was commissioned > to make a study of the impact on medical staff in > Manitoba and what we > found was that many of the sacked workers left their > profession and went > into other pursuits or left the province. Ten years > later when the NDP > formed the government and tried to address the > problems by hiring more > staff and opening more beds they faced a shortage of > available, > qualified staff. Indeed, they were forced to reopen > nursing schools > previously closed in the move to have all nurses > university (4 year) > trained rather than hospital/nursing school (2 year) > trained. > However, when you look at the increase in the > cost of medicare over > the past couple of decades, it is almost entirely > accounted for by the > rise in cost of drugs, a rise accelerated in Canada > by our government's > capitulation to the US to adopt the much more > stringent pharmaceutical > protection laws. This cost escalation has continued > apace in recent > years. > Interestly enough, the US government spends > about the same as Canada > (%of GDP) on medical care but private expenditure in > the US is about > double. If Canada raised its percentage expenditure > even half way to > reduce this discrepancy and reduced the current > privatisation of a > number of branches of health care, waiting lists > could be largely > eliminated in relatively short order if we > accelerate the training of > the required medical personnel. > As to Cuba, the couple of times we have needed > minor medical > attention in Cuba when visiting there, we received > it free of charge > though we had to pay quite minimal amounts for > medication. > > Paul P > > Jim Devine wrote: > > haven't seen the movie yet. > > On 6/30/07, Julio Huato <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > >> raghu wrote: > >> > >> > Anyone care to offer a rebuttal? > >> > >> My rebuttal is: They are really desperate trying > to defend their > >> Frankenstein. They are defensive about their > scam. That is > >> incriminating enough. No doubt, if Moore hadn't > gone to Cuba, the > >> criticism against the documentary and him would > be significantly less > >> intense. More power to Moore for having done it > that way. > >> > > Other countries dedicate a smaller percentage of > their resources to > > medical care than the US does and get better care. > Something is sorely > > wrong. If we value "American ingenuity" so much, > we can take something > > like the French system or US Medicare and improve > it, giving more > > coverage than those systems already do. > > > > One thing: though the Canadian system is better > than the US one, > > didn't the doctors go on strike to oppose the > Canadian one? > > > > -- > > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le > genti." (Go your > > own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, > paraphrasing Dante. > > > > > > > -- > Paul Phillips Professor Emertus, Economics > University of Manitoba Home > and Office: 3806 - 36A st., Vernon BC, Canada. ViT > 6E9 tel: 1 (250) > 558-0830 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html
