What ordinary Canadians are doing to get health care

Another early result of the interviews focuses on cost and affordability. Common wisdom tells us that only rich people can and do pay for private health care. In fact, none of my respondents thus far describe themselves as rich. The great majority describe themselves as “ordinary” meaning that they have their RRSPs, their pension plans and some assets that they are continuing to gather over their working life. They often put it this way “It was either a new car or a new hip. It was an easy choice”.

But some people are of extremely modest means. Shelley, for example, is a single mother of two small children. When her GP told her that the toddler’s eyesight was at risk and needed further assessment and possible treatment, Shelley was not able to access that in or around her Canadian city. Not willing to take a chance, she chose to pay privately in Detroit. Thankfully, the assessment showed that the child could safely wait for further assessment and possible treatment.

These people are “health care scouts”. They have been to the land outside Medicare. They can tell us what it is like. We need to utilize their experiences and information as a vehicle for producing the kind of change in the Canadian health care system which the political process has up to this point has found impossible.

I need to hear from many more people who have chosen to find and pay for medically necessary health care. I want to tell their stories. If you or someone you know has such a story and are willing to share for the purposes of this study and for publication, I would like to hear from you.

About the author: Janet Walker is an adjunct professor of Nursing at the University of British Columbia.

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Copyright © 2007 Janet Walker