Tommy Douglas rolling in his grave

Posted August 31st, 2010 in Canada and tagged conservative government, health care, McGuinty, one-tier, ontario, Saskatchewan, Tommy Douglas, two-tier by MarkOttawa

A ray of reason in our mindlessly ideological health care “debate”:

Tasha Kheiriddin: Private health care comes to…. Saskatchewan

From the cradle of Medicare, hope for health care reform. The Saskatchewan government announced this week that it will be contracting out dental and knee surgery to a private surgical facility. While the public purse will foot the bill, the operations will be performed by the Omni Surgery Centre instead of a public hospital.

According to provincial health minister Don McMorris,

“the move will help shorten wait times for some day surgeries and the setting will be more convenient for patients.”

The move will not only save time, but money. Surgeries done at the Omni Surgery Centre cost less than the same procedures done at a hospital. According to provincial officials, knee surgeries will cost $1,500, $179 or 11 per cent less per procedure. Dental surgeries, at $965, will be cheaper by $76 or seven per cent…

Will never happen in Ontario under Dauntless Dalton’s union-beholden Liberals (and probably not even under a Progressive Conservative government any time soon). But allowing the private provision of publicly-funded medical services is only a first step; private funding is also needed. See this post:

Paying for “one-tier” health care, Part 2

Update thought: As for the current federal government’s even touching on the private funding issue…hah! Even private provision probably beyond their possibilities given their political pusillanimity (despite the hideously dictatorial habits of a certain prime minister). Ain’t alliteration and assonance awesome? Unless overdone, ça va sans dire.

Mark
Ottawa

2 Responses so far.

Louise says:

August 31, 2010 at 2:41 pm

Well hallelujah!! In Saskatchewan, yet!! A few years ago some First Nation band wanted to open a privately run nuclear imaging clinic in Regina but they were shut down by the NDP, I think it was. Or maybe it was the Federal Liberals. Can’t have that in The Home-of-Canada’s-Most-Famous-Canadian-land. Competition is bad, you know.
» Tommy Douglas not rolling in his grave enough/ministers of cults Unambiguously Ambidextrous says:

September 3, 2010 at 11:46 am

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