April 14, 2010

I just listened to an episode of "The Current" on CBC called "Health Care User Fees" and when I saw the title I thought "oh, more coverage on US health care".

I was wrong, it was about us. Canada.

Excuse me?

Apparently in an attempt to pull Quebec out of the red financially Quebec Premier Jean Charest has put forward the idea of imposing a 25$ user fee for every doctor's visit.

Since taking office in 2003, Permier Charest will have indebted Quebeckers by more than $42-billion, which is an historic record, and I understand the obvious desire scrape together money where they can, and with actions like raising the price of electricity by 3.7 percent, hiking gas prices by a cent a litre, and charging higher costs for post-secondary tuition (which I am also against, but that's another topic), going after Health Care seems like a cash-grab.

According to the Charest government because they would be collecting back the amount owed from visits off workers income tax instead of making them pay up-front it's technically not a violation of the Health Care Act.

Oh, but don't forget that the “health contribution” will cost adults $25 this year and eventually climb to $200 in 2012.

This, my friends, is garbage. It completely violates the entire spirit of the Canadian Health Act, which is based on the principle of universal access. What about pregnant women, people with cancer, small children, or the chronically ill? Being charged anything for a doctor's visit is an absolute outrage. It's disgusting to even suggest it.

Thankfully it has been met with vehement opposition. Even good 'ol Iggy had something to say, and ideally as a result of the overwhelming negativity the issue will be dropped. Hopefully. Otherwise I'm afraid what could go through in Quebec will become standard practice in other provinces as well .

I'm honestly amazed at something like this, right after we watched the US fight tooth and nail for a shred of what we have up here.

I'm amazed, and ashamed.