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Issue 5, November 2006
PROFILE: Brian Day
By Michael McCarthy, The Lancet, October 14, 2006
 Delegates
to the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA)
General Council stunned many in Canada’s medical
establishment in August when it elected Brian Day to
be the Association’s next president. A Vancouver-based
orthopaedic surgeon, Day is Canada’s leading proponent
of expanding the role of private health care in the Canadian
public health-care system. Day’s detractors call him “Dr
Profit” and claim he wants to set up a two-tiered US-style
system that will favour the rich over the poor. 59-year-old
Day told The Lancet that his election to lead the CMA shows
that Canadian doctors are ready to give private health
care a bigger role in the Canadian system.
Read more...
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The Canada Health Act: Myths and Realities
By Kieran A.G. Bridges
 What is this
icon of Canadian nationhood, the Canada Health Act? Contrary to claims by some of its supporters, the CHA is far from being a comprehensive
health care or health insurance system. To appreciate how limited the CHA is, it’s important to note that the federal government has
virtually no constitutional jurisdiction over health insurance or health care. Almost all aspects of health insurance and health care fall
under provincial authority.
Read more...
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How Alberta's Next Premier Can Lead in Health Care
By Preston Manning and Mark Milke
 If contenders
for Alberta's Progressive Conservative leadership wish to lead the necessary health-care revolution in Canada, they and every Albertan will
gain much by considering what an excellent health-care system should look like.
First, it would continue to be universal -- every Albertan would have access without regard to their ability to pay; second,
it would be patient-centred and offer the best quality
 of care and treatment outcomes possible; third, waiting times
would be non-existent or at least significantly shortened compared to today.
Read more...
What Went Up Isn’t Coming Down
By Nadeem Esmail
 Waiting for health
care in Canada has, sadly, become a regular part of the Medicare experience. While many may hope that all of the provincial and federal
attention to the issue (and the resulting new initiatives) will produce positive results, others have come to realize that wait times
for medically necessary treatment cannot be resolved without substantive reform to the Medicare program. While things might get better
in those areas where attention is focused, the prospects for improvement overall are limited under the structure of Medicare we have today.
Read more...
Two Nations Suffer from a Lack of Health-Care Options
By Mark Milke
 Many Canadians
think our health-care system is tops just as some Americans believe theirs to be superior, though for very different reasons.
Maybe we're both delusional. And maybe the flaws within our systems are more similar than we realize as are some prospective remedies.
A new book out from a former Winnipeg resident aims to pop our respective balloons. If you're an American visiting Canada, sorry, but
your bubble goes first. In The Cure, David Gratzer, now a Toronto-New York physician (who commutes, apparently) tries to explain what's wrong
with U.S. health care.
Read more...
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2007 CIMCA Health Care Summit
