Perusing my morning read, I see that the CMA is out with a new report that is quite critical of our existing health care system. And that the organization is calling "for five major changes to help improve the state of the system, and the health of Canadians."
How to pay for all this? - you may ask yourself. As a former federal and provincial public servant, I certainly asked that question after reading the Globe article - not to speak of the big, honking headline on the front page of the Star.
Over at the National Post, I find an answer of sorts: the President of the CMA, Dr. Anne Doig, says: "It's not for the CMA, it's not for the doctors of Canada to decide how Canadians want to pay for their health care. Canadians have to decide what they want."
True. But you'd think that the medical profession might have some thoughts to offer Canadians as we make that decision.
Indeed, turning to the CMA report itself, I find that the CMA actually salutes the recent Québec budget:
"Quebec has been the first among the provinces and territories to acknowledge that the current approach to funding health care is neither sustainable in the long term nor fair to future generations - and to announce measures to address the problem…. the 2010-11 Quebec budget contained the following measures:
• starting July 1, 2010 a health contribution (premium) will be introduced, to be collected through the tax system; starting at $25 per adult, this will increase to $200 by 2012 at which time it is expected to raise $945-million
• further study of the introduction of a health deductible as proposed by Castonguay
• the introduction of an annual health account …Other jurisdictions will also need to give consideration to options for at least partially pre-funding future health care expenditures."
And, turning to coverage in Le Devoir of the CMA report, I see that the Vice-President of the CMA, Dr. Robert Ouellet - while not approving every detail - sounds positively enthusiastic about the financing proposals in the budget, which he says were "off the beaten track."
One of the favourite dodges of politicians in our country is to say one thing in English and another in French. However, if we can't count on doctors to give us the straight goods when it comes to health care, on whom can we count?