Part 2

Implementing a cost sharing policy would have profound effects on the efficiency and cost of health care in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada. Access to family physicians and clinics would be improved for those in need as some patients (as many as 25 to 30 percent) will opt to save the charge and not seek medical attention. Remarkably long waiting times for emergency care would also fall as patients requiring attention for non-critical conditions would seek care in more cost-effective settings. Savings that result from these effects, which have been shown to not adversely affect the health of patients if appropriate exemptions and limits are in place, could then be used to treat the health care problems that reside on provincial waiting lists or allow for tax relief that would benefit the economy as a whole.

Allowing patients the freedom to seek care on their own terms is also a necessary component of a world class health care program. In Canada the injured and ill are prisoners of the bureaucratic will, bound to the public health care system and given no opportunity to choose when and where they will receive care, even if the government is unwilling to offer it. Allowing these individuals to purchase health services privately gives them additional choices with regards to when and where it is most appropriate for them to receive health services, and creates competition which can lead to a better and more responsive public health program.

These reforms could also create a less expensive health care program. At present, no developed nation spends more (on an age adjusted basis) to purchase universal access health care for their populations than we do. And yet, most nations enjoy better access to advanced medical technologies and physicians, while some nations, through those key health policies, are able to deliver universal access to health services without waiting times.

Following the path that begins with Mr. Klein's 'third way' will bring Canadians closer to the goal of having the best universal health care system in the world. Heeding comments like those from Ontario Premier McGuinty and Federal Public Health Minister Bennett, who strongly oppose rational, reasonable, informed, and intelligent reform will continue to shackle Canadians to a substandard health program that costs far too much for what it delivers. Canadians can only sit and hope, fingers-crossed, that Mr. Klein has the resolve to show Albertans the immense benefits that competition, responsibility, and freedom have generated for patients in other parts of the developed world.