Canadian Survey finds most fear boomers will cripple health-care system
(People are waking up to the mathematical and economical impossibilities of trying to sustain “health care for everyone”? – BBJ)
Doctors and nurses prepare for cataract eye surgery at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria on July 14, 2009. John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
CMA poll reveals concern that growing costs will spark big tax hikes and an inability of aging seniors to afford care
Four in every five Canadians believe that the demands placed on the health system by aging Baby Boomers will result in reduced access and lower quality care, a poll commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association reveals.
There are also widespread fears – by close to 75 per cent of respondents – that growing health costs will result in significant tax hikes and an inability of seniors to afford health care as they age.
At the same time, the survey shows strong support for user fees and having well-to-do Canadians pay more out-of-pocket to help attenuate the impact of caring for a growing population of seniors.
According to the poll, younger Canadians in particular (those born after 1966) are willing to adapt to the pressures on the medicare system by buying private health insurance to supplement publicly provided care, using their retirement savings to pay for health care and going into debt to pay the health costs of their parents and themselves.
“What we see in these poll results is a refreshing acknowledgment of reality,” Anne Doig, president of the CMA, said in an interview.
“Canadians are not giving up on medicare but they’re recognizing that medicare needs to be transformed to deal with current realities, demographic and otherwise,” she said
The poll, which is being released Monday at the CMA general council meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont., dovetails nicely with a report released earlier this month entitled Health Care Transformation in Canada: Change that Works, Care that Lasts.
In that document, the CMA, the group representing Canada’s 72,000 physicians, argues that the current health system cannot meet future needs, in part because of the aging population. It calls for significant changes, including a universal prescription drug plan, a charter that enshrines the rights of patients, an independent body that can monitor whether health dollars are being spent efficiently, and monetary incentives for doctors and hospitals to treat more patients. The proposals are based on the premise that health care in Canada needs to be more patient-centred, with a greater focus on prevention and ensuring that geography, income level and age are not a barrier to getting quality, timely care.
By Andre Picard
Read more here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/survey-finds-most-fear-boomers-will-cripple-health-care-system/article1681662/
The Desk of Brian recommends:
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Canadians: Government must fund health care without tax boost: poll
Deal reached to avoid 25% cut in doctor’s Medicare payGo for the Bronze – Rants & Raves
I have to say from the bottom of my heart, you done well with this post, very useful stuff.
The government runs out of money, people are afraid that there will be less services, higher costs etc…solution: tax the rich.
“the survey shows strong support for user fees and having well-to-do Canadians pay more out-of-pocket to help attenuate the impact of caring for a growing population of seniors.”
Gotta love socialism