Public Health Care In Canada Essay

Public Healthcare Policies In Canada Canada is well-known for its public healthcare system, however, those that praise it may have yet to learn the ongoing issues people have faced in this system for the past six decades. The Medical Care Act was passed in 1968, and 16 years later, in 1984, the Canada Health Act was passed, which is still in use today. With many unmet healthcare needs still ignored, people push for new policies and more action. Public healthcare policies have impacted Canada’s funds, nurses, and patients. Public healthcare policies have impacted Canada’s funding. This is proven by how much Canada funds private and public healthcare. An article written in 2021 explains that around $265 billion is spent each year on healthcare,

Secondly, Canada’s funding is impacted by what parts of healthcare they choose to fund. As mentioned in this website about Medicare, “It covers all care deemed ‘medically necessary,’ including hospital and doctor visits, but generally does not provide prescription, dental, or vision coverage” (International Citizens Insurance). With the amount Canada spends on public healthcare yearly, it is questionable why Canada will not invest in other forms of healthcare, as some people can’t afford the cost of dental care or prescription medication. In addition, the increased funding for private healthcare might have people wondering what it means for the future of public healthcare. As seen in Doug Ford’s decision to fund private clinics, “Ontario is expanding the private delivery of public health care by funding clinics

For example, the long waiting lines and shortage of nurses make it difficult to receive a treatment or diagnosis. As said here, “The think-tank reports a median wait time of 27.4 weeks for Canadians to get treatment, longer than the 25.6 weeks reported in 2021…”(Tumilty). Once again, though, the wait times are likely caused by understaffing. Still, that is about half a year of waiting, and a worst-case scenario is that these wait times can further complicate the patient’s condition. In addition, the costs of healthcare services other than Medicare are expensive. Patty De Guia’s case, for instance, “Because Ontario’s public health insurance plan doesn’t cover prosthetics, she was on her own, and the leg her doctor recommended at the time cost $50,000”(Drolet). Patty De Guia lost her leg to cancer and used a wheelchair for nine years until her neighbours began a GoFundMe. What the healthcare system prioritizes are the same things it did in the 1960s, which is why anything outside of Medicare is costly. Systemic racism in the public healthcare system is an ongoing issue that also impacts the quality of care people can receive. This is seen in the case of Brian Sinclair, who was an Indigenous man in Manitoba that died after being sent to his hospital’s emergency department, and then ignored for thirty-four hours– up to his death. He only had a bladder infection, which could have easily been cured