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Health Reform

Canada is in desperate need of health reform.

Even before the pandemic arrived, our system was in a crisis state.

Below you will hear stories from everyday Canadians – a retired nurse who has lost two daughters due to long waiting lists, a retired senior who faced a painful wait for hip surgery and more.

Most importantly, this page also has informations on solutions.

Anyone can complain about a problem, but we’ve assembled information on solutions that can help patients.

Health Care Map

Health Care Map
Bruce MacDonald's story (Tsawwassen, BC) Judy Anderson's story (Port Perry, ON) Kim Purdy's story (Sylvan Lake, AB) Jenny McKenzie's story (Vancouver, BC) John Massing's story (Calgary, AB) Tracy Skinner's story (Sylvan Lake, AB) Jackie Herrera's story (Gull Lake, AB) Christina Sanford's story (Halifax, NS) Danny Hozack's story (Lloydminster, AB) Ken Clifford's story (Lillooet, BC) Chris Vander Doelen's story (Harrow, ON) Wendy Petersen's story (Brandon, MB) Max Johnson's story (Winnipeg, MB) Jessica Bailey's story (Saskatoon, SK) Sharon Kilkenny's story (Regina, SK) Joan Hama's story (West Kelowna, BC) Jerry Agar's story (Toronto, ON) Stefanos & George Michelis' story (Toronto, ON) Leah Costello's story (Vancouver, BC) Allison Ducluzeau's story (Saanich, BC)

Jerry Agar's story (Toronto, ON)

Stefanos & George Michelis' story (Toronto, ON)

Patient Stories:

Ken Clifford discusses how a private clinic in Vancouver saved his shoulder from permanent damage (BC)

Kim Purdy discusses her painful 14-month wait for surgery in Alberta’s health care system (AB) 

Chris Vander Doelen talks about his visit to an LA hospital that saved his life from prostate cancer (ON)

Jenny Mckenzie describes her long and painful wait for hip surgery (BC)

Max Johnson talks about his surgery in Lithuania and why he forwarded the bill to the Manitoba government! (MB)

Joan Hama describes how she almost died after being forced to wait too long for health care (BC)

Danny Hozack describes his positive experience with private care in Canada (AB)

Sharon Kilkenny talks about the 93 week waiting list she faces for hip surgery (SK)

Stefanos Michelis discusses his young son’s 3-year wait for surgery to fix a birth defect (ON)

Allison Ducluzeau discusses how she left the country to receive life-saving cancer care (BC)

Jeff Krushell shares his story of leaving Canada to get care for chronic back pain (AB)

Regan Johnson shares his story of being stuck on painkillers instead of receiving surgery in Canada (BC)

Steven Cedrone tells how he’s now confined in a wheelchair due to a long surgical wait (ON)

Judy Anderson describes losing two daughters due to long waiting lists (ON)

Jackie Herrera describes living in pain for years before finding relief in Germany (AB)

Bruce MacDonald describes his experience waiting for surgery in British Columbia’s health care system (BC)

Tracy Skinner describes going to Tijuana, Mexico for surgery to address her back pain (AB)

Jessica Bailey talks about the effects of the government cancelling her organ transplant surgery (SK)

Wendy Petersen discusses her long wait for knee surgery in Canada (MB)

John Massing faced a 2-year wait for back surgery – so he went to Germany instead (AB)

Nurse Christina Sanford describes having to travel to Mexico for treatment (NS)

Jerry Agar discusses his year-long wait for knee surgery, and how travelling for care could have helped (ON)

Leah Costello shares her story of jumping through hoops and waiting months for cancer care (BC)

Laurie McCoy tells how she was stopped from working as a nurse in Canada’s understaffed system (ON)

Melanie Leeson shares her story of travelling to receive care for an aggressive form of cancer (BC)

Other Interviews / Content:

Rick Baker discusses helping Canadians travel abroad for health care (BC)

We chat with Dr. Susan Piccinin about waiting lists, private health & an aging population

Ontario physician Dr. Shawn Whatley discusses his new book, “When politics comes before patients” (post-COVID)

What happens when the government health system runs a Tim Hortons? A lot of money is wasted

Angela Henry and Cheryl Cascio discuss crossing the Canada-U.S. border to work as nurses 

Alberta premier Danielle Smith joins us to discuss health reform in her province

Retired nurse Janet Walker discusses her research into waiting list suffering (BC)

Ontario physician Dr. Shawn Whatley discusses Canada’s growing waiting list problem (pre-COVID)

Is Jim Carey right about health care in Canada? We took a closer look

How two Swedish hospitals illustrate a major way the Canadian health care system could improve

How a privately-run, publicly-funded clinic in BC has helped to slash surgical wait times

We debunk myths and misinformation from the federal health minister’s rant on health care

Solutions and Research:

Since launching in 2019, SecondStreet.org has released several policy briefs:

  • Died on a Waiting List: These policy briefs examine government data on patients dying while waiting for care. SecondStreet.org has released three of these reports – December 2020, June 2021 and December 2021.
  • The EU’s Cross Border Directive: Europeans have the right to travel to other EU countries, pay for health care and then be reimbursed by their home countries. We put together a short brief on this policy option and how it could help Canadian patients – click here.
  • November 2021 Poll: This  policy brief examines public opinion research into three health reform options that could help patients.
  • Postponed Surgeries: This policy brief from March 2021 examines government data on postponed surgeries and diagnostic scans during the first year of the pandemic.
  • Hospital Cafeteria Losses: This policy brief examines financial losses at government-run, commercial cafeterias in hospitals (including government-run, money-losing Tim Hortons franchises).
  • COVID-19 Reinforces the Need for Health Reform: Prior to the pandemic, Canada’s health system was struggling. This policy brief compares Canada’s system with other nations and provides information on some better-performing health models.
  • March 2020 Poll: This policy brief examines public opinion research on several aspects of health care in Canada.
  • Private MRI Options: In late 2020, SecondStreet.org put out a policy brief that examines the growth in private MRI options in Canada.
  • The Flight of the Sick: SecondStreet.org’s first policy brief examines just how many Canadians leave the country each year specifically for health care.

Several organizations in Canada have released important health care research and analysis. A few reports/links you might find of interest include:

  • Chapter on Health Reform: Krystle Wittevrongel from the Montreal Economic Institute wrote an excellent chapter on health reform for a free eBook that we created with MEI and three other public policy groups. To view it – click here.
  • Waiting Your Turn: For nearly 30 years, the Fraser Institute has been conducting important research on waiting lists in Canada. To view their 2021 report – click here.  
  • Activity Based Funding: One policy option that Canada could embrace is called Activity Based Funding. In short, this model incentivizes output by funding hospitals based on output – rather than annual cheques. To see the Fraser Institute’s report on this concept – click here, or click here to see the Montreal Economic Institute’s paper.
  • Historic Look at Health Reform: The Macdonald-Laurier Institute has some interesting essays on health reform over the past 20 years, specifically, an examination of the Mazankowski report from 20 years ago. 
  • The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, 2022: The Fraser Institute broke down the costs of public health care for the average family. For example, the average family of four pays $15,847 a year for public health care.
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Prevention – reduce demand in the first place

If Canadians lived healthier lives, we could reduce demand for emergency services, orthopaedic surgeries, primary care and more. 

For instance, if you visit the Canadian Cancer Society’s website, you’ll read that “about four in ten” cancer cases are preventable. The Heart and Stroke Foundation notes that “almost 80 percent of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented through healthy behaviours.” A similar number of Diabetes cases are also preventable. 

Many joint replacements and visits to ERs and walk-in clinics could also be avoided through healthy living. 

To be sure, not all health problems can be avoided through healthy living – everyday the system treats Canadians with genetic conditions, helps those injured in unavoidable accidents and more.  

But there is an opportunity to reduce pressure on the health care system through Canadians shifting to healthier lifestyles – better diets, more exercise, etc. 

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or see this column. 

Partner with non-profits and for-profit clinics

European countries will partner with anyone who can help patients. 

It doesn’t matter if it’s a non-profit, a government entity or a private clinic. What matters is that patients receive quality treatment, in a timely manner and for a competitive price.  

In Canada, governments often delivery services using government-run hospitals instead of seeing if non-profit or private clinics could deliver the services more effectively. 

When governments have partnered with non-profit and private clinics, the results have often been quite good – Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia are just a few examples of where partnerships have worked well. 

Canada should pursue more of these partnerships to reduce wait times and increase the volume of services provided to patients.  

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or see the links above. 

Make cross border care more accessible

In Canada, citizens pay high taxes each year and we’re promised universal health care services in return. The problem is, wait times are often extremely long in our health system – sometimes patients have to wait years to see a specialist or receive surgery. 

If patients don’t want to wait long periods, they often have to reach into their own pocket and pay for treatment outside the province or country. 

Throughout the European Union, we also find universal health care systems. But a key difference is that EU patients have the right to go to other EU countries, pay for surgery and then be reimbursed by their home government. Reimbursements cover up to what the patient’s home government would have spent to provide the treatment locally. 

If Canada copied this approach, a patient waiting a year to get their hip operation could instead receive treatment next week in one of thousands of surgical clinics throughout the developed world. 

Governments benefit too as the patient is now back on their feet and avoiding complications that sometimes come with long wait times – meaning the government doesn’t have to treat those complications on top of the initial health problem. 

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or this shorter video. 

Legalize access to non-government providers

Canada is the only country in the world that puts up barriers, or outright bans patients from paying for health services locally. 

For instance, a patient in Toronto cannot pay for a hip operation at a private clinic in Toronto. Their only option is to wait for the government to eventually provide treatment or leave the province and pay elsewhere. 

Countries with better-performing universal health care systems do not have such bans. They allow patients a choice – use the public system or pay privately for treatment. Sweden, France, Australia and more – they all allow choice. 

Why? One reason is that allowing choice means some patients will decide to pay privately. This takes pressure off the public system. For instance, in Sweden, 87% of patients use the public system, but 13% purchase private health insurance. 

Ultimately, more choice improves access for patients. 

To learn more, watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or watch this short clip on this topic. 

Shift to funding services for patients, not bureaucracies

In Canada, most hospitals receive a cheque from the government each year and are then asked to do their best to help patients. This approach is known as “block funding”. 

Under this model, a patient walking in the door represents a drain on the hospital’s budget. Over the course of a year, hospital administrators have to make sure the budget stretches out so services are rationed. This is why you might have to wait until next year or the year after for a hip operation, knee operation, etc. 

In better-performing universal health systems, they take the opposite approach – hospitals receive money from the government each time they help a patient. If a hospital completes a knee operation, it might receive, say, $10,000. If it completes a knee operation on another patient, it receives another $10,000. 

This model incentivizes hospitals to help more patients – to help more patients with knee operations, cataract surgery, etc. This approach also incentivizes hospitals to spend money on expenses that help patients (e.g. more doctors, nurses, equipment, etc.) rather than using the money on expenses that don’t help patients (e.g. more admin staff). 

To learn more about this policy option, please watch our Health Reform Now documentary (scroll up) or see this post by MEI.