For-profit private health care under fire in new report from Canada's nurses
Ottawa (October 6, 2008) -- There is no evidence to support claims that increasing for-profit private elements in
Canadian health care will improve care or reduce cost, according to a new report released on the eve of a
National Day of Action for Medicare. The report written for the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, is a
summary of the private versus public health care debate in Canada, reviewing the evidence for and against
increasing private for-profit health care.
"For-profit private health care takes away from the public system. It is not a solution but a huge problem. We
need to move forward with public health care, not backwards. For profit private health care is a huge step back," says Linda Silas, RN, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
The report reviews the arguments of those advocating for more for-profit diagnostic and surgical clinics, the
construction of health infrastructure by corporate investors (P3s), the introduction of fees or co-payments to
health services and the role of private insurance to fund patient services. Evidence from international
experiments with privatization is contrasted with these claims. The conclusion is that there is no such thing as a
parallel system. More for-profit private health care cannot exist as an add-on as it takes away from Canadians.
"In 2002, Romanow himself looked for evidence of benefits of for-profit health care and could not find it.
Today, Canada's nurses cannot either. Nurses know the challenges of the public healthcare system better than
most, and these problems are small compared to what we will see if there is more for-profit care in this country," warned Silas.
The report was commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) and written by
independent writer Marc Young. CFNU represents 158,000 nurses.
"For-profit health care is about shareholders, not about patient care or safety or even saving public money," concludes Linda Silas.
The National Day of Action for Medicare was declared by the Canadian Health Coalition and provincial health
coalitions to sound an alarm that our public healthcare system is disappearing unless there is more government
leadership.
"For-profit health care: A road paved with gold and doubtful intentions" is available for free download from the
CFNU website.
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