Learning from Canada

We can learn much about socialized medicine by watching as Canada inches toward private medicine. Canada takes a turn toward allowing private medicine alongside its government medical plan, as the court granted a year's reprieve on its decision striking down a ban on private insurance. It is the result of one Quebecois objecting to a year long wait for a hip replacement. Perhaps we can send Senator Hillary Clinton up north to teach the Canucks how to run government health care the right way.

TORONTO – Canadians have long prized their public healthcare system as a reflection of national values, and have looked askance at the inequities of private medical care in the United States. But now that the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled private health insurers should be allowed to compete with the public system, the future of Canadian healthcare is a question mark.

"For our government, it's a very strong indictment of the way they've handled the system," says Dr. Albert Schumacher, president of the Canadian Medical Association. "I hope it will move us forward in the debate. 'Private' has always been used by politicians as a very evil word, associated with America and for-profit. But it's not necessarily so."