Ever since PM Paul Martin famous “$40 billion dollar health care fix for a generation” you can mark me down as a doubter.

I couldn’t get an MRI for my mother without ‘going postal’ back in 1999, one Supreme Court of Canada Chaouli case later , now 8 years hence we are finally going to have national discussion.

I am delighted the rest of world is finally catching on. I suppose the first step to a cure is to admit there is a problem.

This campaign will show the true ‘grit’ of Canadians. Do Canadians have the fortitude to think rather than let the government do it for them? Even though I support the campaign 110% - I will not hold my breath. Socialism has been entrenched thru Liberal socialist domination and it will take ’some’ doing to change Canadian sheeple to think on their own. But, let’s get started now with hope for change to end this bureacratic nightmare Canadians cling to like a baby blanket.

The R.O.C. wants the cash from Ottawa to take care of our own Health Care like Quebec has the privledge to do so. Thus they have cheaper day care and better equipped hpositals with MRI’s etc.

We have to dual track our medical for the French but sdo they dual it in Quebec?? ther ewould be a big saving if we loooked after ourselves aw Quebe the spoilt brat is able to do.

That Have Not-PRovince has the millions to buy all of all our best Lumber hardwre stores in B.C. for the Olymp;ic boom- now totalling 54 in B.C. and the 17 Totam hardware stores in Alberta. Rona useds to be Reve and they own them all acaross Canada that is why we see our athletes in hockey and football uniforma with RONA on their uniforma and on the ice and ice boards. Man they are wealthy ?

Poor Que. how I wish we had the money they have and still they ask for more and more. Takers not givers like we have to be. Dot Fuhrman

Canadian Healthcare in its present socialistic form has been an undiscussable sacred cow for far too long. Hopefully, this discussion tour will confront the appalling waste and corruption that is taking place but until has been strenuously ignored!

Wake up Canadians! - fraud is rampant with many Americans and foreigners using health cards obtained illegally.
- presently, very large numbers of immigrants & refugees who have paid little into the system are bringing over ailing relatives with serious pre-existing conditions. Small wonder our line-ups & healthcare costs are deteriorating.

THE PROVINCES HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE BRICKS AND MORTAR
BUSINESS AND RUN HEALTH CARE INSURANCE AS AN INSURANCE
PERIOD.

In nov 2006, it became clear that my nasal block was so severe that I needed surgery. Surgery did not occur until March 2007. Improving but not good, i was asked to wait for several months. In June I finally called and I was scheduled in Mississauga for Sept 11. After a machine breakdown this surgery is now scheduled for Sept 28, 2007. That is not timely for something that creates sleep disturbance, disruption to speech and limitation of exercise.

Evern in the National Post, the the coalition is characterized as “right wing” instead of conservative. For most of our new Canadians that means fascist or extreme nationalist to the point of discrimination and paranoia. A centre left Liberal is not characterized as extreme left or communist. As deomcrats who believe in individual vs collective priorities, private as opposed to communal ownership, we need to be less tolerant of this characterization.

David

I have a bookshelf full of Royal Commission and other reports on Canadian Healthcare. None of these expensive and weighty reports deals with the root cause of the unsustainability of our healthcare system. Any insurance company expert will tell you that first dollar coverage is fundamentally wrong. Taking all responsiblity away from people, will make all too many start to behave irresponsibly and thereby bankrupting the system.
We need to add a sixth principle to the Canadian Healthcare Act and that is the principle of accountability and manage it like any other self supporting insurance scheme, be it with a safety net for the truly poor and disabled fellow Canadians.

All hospitals and clinics that are presently owned by any form of government should be sold to private enterprize. The provincial governments would still pay the bills, and the fee structure would be set by the government.

This would be a self policing system. If the fee styructure is set too low the privatized institution would refuse to service the customer until adjustments were made. There would be great incentive to be efficient and to purchase ample amounts of the latest technology, and equipment.

It would be expexted that groups of Medical Doctors would purchase most of these institutions and run an efficient hands on operation with the for profit incentive as a catelist.

I have worked in the healthcare system for 39 years, first as an LPN and then as a n RN. When I think of what is wrong with the current way we do things, I hardly know where to begin.
The two big issues that come to mind are Unions and Accountability.

Unions make it impossible to get rid of bad employees. A lot of the current union jobs could and should be contracted out so that professionals in healthcare could be paid what they are worth.

Getting rid of local health boards was a big mistake…when local managers are not accountable to the community they serve there is a vacuum created.

I think medicare as it iscurrently structured in this country is classic
example of the policitians sweeping a problem under the carpet

The policiticans and senior bureaucrats all know that the present system
is unsustainable in that outlays on health care are rising at a faster rate than tax revenues. The present buoyant state of the Canadian economy only postpones the day of reckoning. Indeed it was not until Ralph Klein left office in Alberta that he commented on this

I would suggest that user fees be imposed as follows

Each time that someone visits a doctor or receives something under the system they would receive a slip let us call it an M 4 and would include it in their income for the year and would consequently pay tax on it at their marginal rate. This would disabuse people of the belief all too widely held that medical treatment is “free”

Thus there would be claw backs on the use of the system
There would be a limit so that those unfortunate individuals who are chronically ill would not have all of their expenses subject to user fees

I would also take a hard look at certain practices such as having to go to a physician to have a routine prescription refilled
Too large a portion of medicare’s resources are being frittered away on such nonsense. Pharmacists should be able to renew routine prescriptions for such medications as lipitor.

I would also question the practice of block funding

Hey ppl, i’ve unbiasedification nationalcitizens.ca when i searched google
for a forbearing and au courant forum, and i nave of-and-go-up of to loiter here)
if you note my english bad… so be it, i’m justifiable learning