Canada's health system is commonly described as universal but lacks blanket coverage for prescription medications, causing affordability barriers. Nearly one quarter of Canadians reportedly did not fill or renew prescriptions due to cost, producing avoidable hospital returns and higher system expenses. Other high-income nations combine public systems with private options and alternative funding to improve timeliness and efficiency. Private-pay options can deliver timely, satisfactory care at reasonable cost when public wait times are long. Policies that enforce rigid egalitarian access without addressing timeliness and drug coverage can produce needless suffering and growing inequities.
Canada is known for its "universal" health care system. However, we still come second to big-profit interests. According to a 2015 Angus Reid study, nearly 25 percent of Canadians chose not to fill or renew a prescription in the previous year due to the cost of medication. This often results in many low-income patients returning to the hospital, ultimately costing the health care system more than if the prescriptions had been covered.
Other countries with universal health care systems-including the UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands-have used the private sector to their advantage and incentivized greater efficiency through alternative funding models. While living in the UK for twelve years, my wife and I used the private-pay option several times when we couldn't get timely care from the public system. We had very satisfactory outcomes at a reasonable cost.
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