Health Insurance And Canadian Public Policy

In Health Insurance and Canadian Public Policy, Malcolm Taylor describes the emergence of Medicare, providing an interesting window into current health care debates. He discusses the seemingly endless series of federal-provincial exchanges and negotiations involving issues of jurisdiction, cost allocations, revenue transfers, and taxing authorities as well as efforts to accommodate opposition from various special interests that would eventually evolve into a system that provided access to adequate health care for all Canadians on the basis of need, irrespective of financial circumstances.

In Health Insurance and Canadian Public Policy, Malcolm Taylor describes the emergence of Medicare, providing an interesting window into current health care debates. He discusses the seemingly endless series of federal-provincial exchanges and negotiations involving issues of jurisdiction, cost allocations, revenue transfers, and taxing authorities as well as efforts to accommodate opposition from various special interests that would eventually evolve into a system that provided access to adequate health care for all Canadians on the basis of need, irrespective of financial circumstances. Long considered the definitive study of Medicare in Canada, Health Insurance and Canadian Public Policy clearly identifies the crucial contribution of political courage and leadership in achieving a single-payer, publicly funded system. A new introduction by Allan Maslove discusses the book's relevance to contemporary debates and drives home two important themes - that conflicts between federal and provincial governments are not new and that, in spite of opposition from various organized interests, strong popular support for Medicare insured that the initial project was not derailed.

Gesundheitswesen / Kanada / Geschichte.

In Health Insurance and Canadian Public Policy, Malcolm Taylor describes the emergence of Medicare, providing an interesting window into current health care debates. He discusses the seemingly endless series of federal-provincial exchanges and negotiations involving issues of jurisdiction, cost allocations, revenue transfers, and taxing authorities as well as efforts to accommodate opposition from various special interests that would eventually evolve into a system that provided access to adequate health care for all Canadians on the basis of need, irrespective of financial circumstances.

After World War II, the United States and Canada, two countries that were very similar in many ways, struck out on radically divergent paths to public health insurance. Canada developed a universal single-payer system of national health care, while the United States opted for a dual system that combines public health insurance for low-income and senior residents with private, primarily employer-provided health insurance—or no insurance—for everyone else. In National Health Insurance in the United States and Canada, Gerard W. Boychuk probes the historical development of health care in each country, honing in on the most distinctive social and political aspects of each country—the politics of race in the U.S. and territorial politics in Canada, especially the tensions between the national government and the province of Quebec. In addition to the politics of race and territory, Boychuk sifts through the numerous factors shaping health policy, including national values, political culture and institutions, the power of special interests, and the impact of strategic choices made at critical junctures. Drawing on historical archives, oral histories, and public opinion data, he presents a nuanced and thoughtful analysis of the evolution of the two systems, compares them as they exist today, and reflects on how each is poised to meet the challenges of the future.

Naylor's particular concern is with the nature and extent of the medical profession's opposition at both the provincial and federal levels. He details various developments in medical politics and policies, including the dispute over state health insurance plans in British Columbia during the depression, the national health insurance program drafted by the King government, the doctors' strike in Saskatchewan, and the development and eventual governmental rejections of prepayment plans sponsored by organized medicine. The author concludes that physicians regarded medical insurance schemes over which they had little administrative control, or where coverage was not limited to the indigent or to those earning below a modest wage, as threats to professional incomes and autonomy. His analysis of the evolution of the professional perspectives, policies, and pressure group activities suggests that physicians are as likely to act in their own economic and social interest as any other group, and that they oppose legislation that would threaten these interests while supporting laws that strengthen them. Since the Medical Care Act became law, Ottawa has moved to strengthen health care plans in the provinces, and once again the medical profession has resisted. The final chapter in Naylor's book puts these current conflicts in historical perspective by linking them to their political precedents.

The Canadian health care system is so indisputably tied to our national identity that its founder, Tommy Douglas, was voted the greatest Canadian of all time in a CBC television contest. However, very little has been written to date on how Medicare as we know it was developed and implemented. This collection fills a serious gap in the existing literature by providing a comprehensive policy history of Medicare in Canada. Making Medicare features explorations of the experiments that predated the federal government’s decision to implement the Saskatchewan health care model, from Newfoundland’s cottage hospital system to Bennettcare in British Columbia. It also includes essays by key individuals (including health practitioners and two premiers) who played a role in the implementation of Medicare and the landmark Royal Commission on Health Services. Along with political scientists, policy specialists, medical historians, and health practitioners, this collection will appeal to anyone interested in the history and legacy of one of Canada’s most visible and centrally important institutions.

The health care system in Canada is much-discussed in the international sphere, but often overlooked when it comes to its highly decentralized administration and regulation. Health Systems in Transition: Canada provides an objective description and analysis of the public, private, and mixed components that make up health care in Canada today including the federal, provincial, intergovernmental and regional dynamics within the public system. Gregory P. Marchildon’s study offers a statistical and visual description of the many facets of Canadian health care financing, administration, and service delivery, along with relevant comparisons to five other countries’ systems. This second edition includes a major update on health data and institutions, a new appendix of federal laws concerning select provincial and territorial Medicare legislation, and, for the first time, a comprehensive and searchable index. It also provides a more complete assessment of the Canadian health system based on financial protection, efficiency, equity, user experience, quality of care, and health outcomes. Balancing careful assessment, summary, and illustration, Health Systems in Transition: Canada is a thorough and illuminating look at one of the nation's most complex public policies and associated institutions.