Public health care covers 100% of Canadians at a cost of 9.8% GDP; private care in the U.S. costs 15.3% of GDP and covers only 85% of American citizens.
Fredericton (24 August 2007) - Private health care often costs much more than public health care without being any better, says Debbie Lacelle, president of the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees (NBU/NUPGE).
In a commentary coinciding with the convention of the Canadian Medical Association in Vancouver, where expanded private options are being discussed, Lacelle questions the idea that for-profit health care should be granted a larger role in Canada's public health care system.
"Health care cost increases have been most significant under the private components of our program such as prescription drugs, home care and long term care," Lacelle argues. "For example, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), drug expenditures rose from $3.8 billion in 1985 to $21.8 billion in 2004."
She also points out that prescription drugs represent the fastest rising cost in health care, ranking second behind hospitals in total spending.
"The cost of administrative services for prescription drugs would drop under a publicly-administered plan - from an estimated 8% to 2%," she says. "A single buyer system would result in greater bargaining power with the drug companies and allow government to keep drug prices in check, containing rampant cost increases. This suggests our public system needs to be expanded not eroded."
Private care costs rises faster
Lacelle says research also shows that spending is higher and increases faster with for-profit care, often without producing better results.
"A recent study of 500,000 dialysis patients, for example, showed patients receiving treatment in for-profit centres are significantly more likely to die than those treated in non-profit centres," she notes.
"The suggestion that the private sector will enhance the provision of health care services is a fallacy. We already have for-profit facilities in Canada such as MRI clinics, private laboratories, private clinics which have been defended on the grounds that they will reduce wait times. This has not proven to be the case."
One of the main reasons for continuing problems with wait times is the lack of health care professionals, Lacelle says.
"Increased usage of human resources in the private sector means less availability of those resources for the public sector. This leads to longer waiting lists for those using the public system. For-profit clinics exist to provide care, but the individuals who own and operate these ventures also need to make money. These goals can collide to the detriment of patients," she says.
Business will pay
The business community will inevitably feel the pressure if private health care is introduced, Lacelle adds.
"If public health care services are reduced and citizens are required to pay for their health care needs they will look to their employers for health care plans, a significant cost to the business community," she says.
"Although health care costs are rising, the percentage of our gross domestic product (GDP) spent on health care has not changed significantly in many years," she adds.
"The Canadian public system spends roughly 9.8% of its GDP to insure 100% of its citizens compared to the U.S. system which spends 15.3% to insure 85% of its citizens. Add to this the fact that Canadians live longer and have lower infant mortality rates and our public system comparatively speaking is a pretty good deal for Canadians." NUPGE
