Cheers, Ken Hanly
User fees deter poor, Romanow says
Canadian Press
Kingston, Ont. - User fees prevent the poor from accessing medical care, argues former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow, who is heading a commission on the future of health care in Canada.
"The purpose of user fees is to stop abuse of hospital and doctors' services," Mr. Romanow said Friday in a speech at Queen's University in Kington, Ont.
"It's outlawed by the Canada Health Act because the evidence has been they don't do that. They deter people at the low end of the scale from using services.
"Some say that is a bias on my part. It really isn't a bias. I'm just telling you what the existing literature says."
Despite his concerns, Mr. Romanow said user fees are "on the table" to be considered by the study.
Mr. Romanow, who in May was given 18 months by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to deliver his report, doesn't believe Canada's publicly funded and universal medical system is in crisis.
Rather, "the system is under stress," he said, pointing to expensive new technology that requires constant upgrading.
While many Canadians believe health care is overburdened because of lengthy waiting lists, they're still happy with the services they receive, Mr. Romanow said.
"There is considerable evidence that indicates when people actually come into contact with their doctors or hospitals, they get pretty good quality care," he said.
Mr. Romanow has been travelling across the country, visiting health-care facilities and meeting with political leaders and medical experts.
He plans to prepare a discussion paper that will form the basis for public hearings next year.
Feedback he's received so far suggests Canadians want politicians to stop bickering about health care.
But Mr. Romanow said Canadians must decide if they want a medical system that requires every penny of household earnings to get the proper care.
"We may not be able to cover everything but those big and important procedures which speak to the quality of life and human values will be covered," he said. "That's what medicare was all about. Now we have to put it in the 21st century."