On October 1, 1969, the Progressive Conservatives gave the
government of Ontario a monopoly on health care insurance.
It did so by passing a law making it illegal to buy or sell
private health insurance for most medical services. Prior to
the ban, everyone in Ontario was free to buy private health
insurance, and to buy medical services. Most Ontarians who
wanted private health insurance had it, and they were quite
happy with it.
The government health insurance monopoly has made unions
more politically powerful and well-financed. It has also given
privately-owned
health care providers guaranteed cash flow from the taxpayer-financed
government trough. However, the monopoly has not served Ontario’s
patients and taxpayers well at all. Delays are inhumanely long
and completely unjustifiable. Ontarians are forced to wait
months, or even a year, just to obtain a scan to determine
whether or not they are ill and in need of treatment. According
to the Supreme Court of Canada, Canadians are suffering, getting
worse, and even dying in government health care waiting lines
as they wait for health care rations. To make matters worse,
in 2004, the Liberal government of Ontario brought in legislation
that made it illegal to spend your own money on health care
services that are covered by OHIP. In effect, fines are imposed
on any individual or company that tries to sell you better,
faster health care. The unions are happy with the legislation,
but are you?
The Liberal, Progressive Conservative and NDP parties say
that it is morally wrong for you to get faster or better treatment
by spending your own earnings. They imply that if the poor
are going to suffer or die, it is morally right that everyone
suffer or die to the same extent.
Freedom Party takes the opposite view. It is not right for
the government to prolong your suffering and subject you
to delays that may put your life at risk. It is not right for
the government to prevent you from spending your own money
on your own health. It is cruel and wrong!
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A McKeever government will legalize faster, better health care:
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It will
be perfectly legal for you to buy health care insurance from
a private insurer, if you want to do so. Private health
insurance premiums and deductibles will be controlled by
competition among insurers who are trying to win your business:
competition
will force insurers to give you better health care at a lower
price than their competitors.
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In full
compliance with the Canada Health Act, the government will
continue to offer
non-profit public health insurance that
is publicly-administered, comprehensive in its coverage,
available on uniform terms and conditions, portable, and accessible.
Just like now, you will have an undeniable right to pay into
and to
be covered by public insurance. Public health insurance premiums
will be controlled by controlling the prices of health services
provided to publicly-insured patients.
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You will
not be required to buy private or public health insurance.
If it is
your preference, you will be free to
pay-as-you-go,
instead.
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A McKeever
government will end the current practice of dividing physicians
and other medical professionals
into
public and private
systems. A physician will be free to serve publicly-insured
patients, privately-insured patients, and pay-as-you-go
patients.
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It will
be perfectly legal to open a non-profit or for-profit health
care facility (e.g., clinics that specialize
in
diagnostic measures, such as MRI and CT scans; nursing
or paramedical
facilities that can carry out simple procedures at
low cost). Those facilities
will lighten the load in Ontario’s hospital waiting
rooms. Wait times will shorten.
These are
five steps in the right direction. They put your interests
first:
faster, better health care.
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