Letter to the Editor

Here's my letter which appeared in today's Windsor Star:

Meaghan Martinho's letter comparing the U.S. and Canadian health-care systems is just one more example of how this issue has become one of politics, patriotism and ideology -- all of which are now placed above the actual delivery of health care. If we were to address the issue of how to give Canadians universal access to quality health care, the debate would not centre on whose system is the most flawed. That question is as irrelevant as it is debatable, since only a tiny minority advocates a move to "American-style health care."

If we look to the rest of the developed world, we see that both Canada and the United States are oddballs. In Canada, it's because of our refusal to acknowledge the role of the private sector in delivery of medical services; in the U.S., it's because there is no attempt to provide universal care.

Every other developed nation -- including countries with entrenched social democratic values such as Sweden, France and Germany -- has placed delivery of services above political rhetoric and used private medical care as part of the system that provides quality, universally accessible care to all members of society. In Switzerland, medical insurance is a requirement for all citizens, with government assistance for those who could not otherwise afford it. Both the insurance and the medical care are delivered by the private sector, while the government simply ensures universal access.

As a society, we strive to provide quality medical care for all. But so long as we continue to accept this false choice and fail to look beyond our immediate neighbour, we will fail to achieve that goal.