Author Topic: 2021 Election Campaign  (Read 13580 times)

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Offline kimmy

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Re: 2021 Election Campaign
« Reply #180 on: August 26, 2021, 11:30:17 pm »



public health care advocates state CPC/O’Toole can't have it both ways - that he has not explained how his support for allowing private, for-profit medical services squares with his assertion that he fully supports universal, public health care.

CPC/O'Toole <=> 2-tier health care

We already have considerable "public-private synergy" in healthcare. The idea that this is a threat to universal access to healthcare is a boogeyman that you guys like to haul out at election time.

My doctor doesn't work at the hospital or some government facility. She works at a little clinic that she and a couple of other doctors jointly run. When I need blood work or imaging done, I don't go to a hospital or government facility, I go to a privately owned, for-profit lab.   During the vaccine roll-out, I don't know what percentage of vaccinations were performed by pharmacists at privately owned, for-profit pharmacies. I do know that when I tried to book appointments online at local pharmacies, they were booked solid... they must have administered quite a few doses. They also administer tons of flu vaccinations every fall, and provide a lot of general-purpose healthcare advice that probably provides great value to our public health in general, ranging from helping people monitor their diabetes to providing assistance with minor issues that might otherwise see a patient go to the doctor.

If the grand dream of a national pharmacare program ever comes to fruition, one can rest assured that pharmacies won't be nationalized; rather it will involve a "public-private synergy" where the government works with privately owned, for-profit enterprises.

Another possibility for "public-private synergies" is home-care visits from care aids for patients who can still live at home and don't need full-time care but do need regular assistance for whatever minor medical issue they might have-- like changing a bandage, helping them bathe, administering an injection, and so on.  There's no need for those things to be done at a hospital or done by a highly trained professional. People who know more about healthcare and geriatrics than I do could probably come up with a lot of ideas that could improve patient care and save money at the same time; an entrepreneurial incentive could help bring these ideas to life.

"Public-private synergy" doesn't necessarily mean "two-tier".  What is important is that we maintain universal single-payer health insurance.  There's plenty of opportunity for "public-private synergy" within a single-payer system.


 -k
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