Dear editor,
Imagine a Canada where you and your family could only see a doctor or access hospital care if you had the money to pay the fee.
The Canada Health Act established that Canadians have the right to quality health care based on need, not the ability to pay. A court case that started this month in Vancouver could change how health care is delivered in Canada.
Dr. Brian Day, CEO of Cambie Surgeries Corp., is looking for changes to allow doctors to decide how much they will charge for everything from simple office visits to hip surgeries.
Doctors already have the right to opt out of our public system and work exclusively on a private basis. However, if they are working in our public system, they can’t charge patients more than the government regulated fees. Doctors like Brian Day want to have it both ways – regular payments from taxpayer dollars with top-ups from those rich enough to pay more for special service.
Dr. Day wants there to be one health-care system for the rich, which allows them to pay their way to the front of the line, and one system for the rest of us.
Our tax dollars pay for a public health-care system where our ability to pay does not determine the quality of care we will receive. A win for Day will be a loss for Canadians.
Kathie Woodley
Courtenay