The 1962 battle over Canadian health care: Labor pains

Whole Earth Review, Winter, 1995 by Steven A. Lyons

Should a similar system be implemented in the US, a waitress would have the same health insurance as a governor. Conversely, the governor would have the same insurance as the waitress. We would all be in it together. As premier of Saskatchewan from 1971 to 1982, Allan Blakeney was Saskatchewan's equivalent of our governor. Was he satisfied receiving the same quality of care as a car mechanic?

"Yes," Blakeney readily states. "I was quite happy with the level of medical care I received and I'm sure the mechanic got the same level of care. I never felt the need for additional medical insurance for my family or me."

Does the Canadian government insurance commission micro-manage the doctors' decisions? "No," says Dr. Barootes plainly. "There has been no interference in the decisionmaking that goes on in a medical office or hospital between a doctor and his patient. We said there would be. Of course we threatened that. That was our big fear, that they would be telling us what to do. There is no intervention between an individual doctor with his individual patient, determining between them what they wish to have done. So we were wrong on that and I admit that.

"While the government does not interfere with my judgment per se, there is intervention in another way," Barootes continues, "and that is in the rationing of health services. As costs mount, the public purse can't support all of the services that are demanded or required or wanted."

Ah, the tender underbelly begins to be exposed. Dr. Barootes readily points to the source of Canada's financial problem. "There may be an element of overservicing by doctors, there may be an element of overutilization by patients."

With I-told-you-so glee, Dr. Barootes says, "We wanted co-payments. They did not implement that, and that was the one prediction of ours that came true, that costs would rise astronomically and that the government would cut back or ration services. We said that costs would rise unless there were brakes put on it, such as deterrent fees."

But while Barootes describes Canada's health care costs as rising "astronomically," Canada spends only two dollars per person for every three dollars per person that we spend on health care. Yet their life expectancy exceeds ours and their infant mortality rate is below ours.

So now, with over thirty years of experience with the Canadian health care system, I try to coax the doctor-turned-senator to offer words of wisdom to us Americans as we continue to struggle with our health care system. He'll have none of it.

"Senator Metzenbaum came up here and so did young Kennedy, I forget his name..." "Joe?" I offer. "No, no, theyoung one," he exclaims, frustrated. Of course "Joe Kennedy" to him is JFK's father. Poking around the family tree, I hazard, "Ted?" "Ted, that's it," he says, relieved. "They came up here and wanted me to go see your new lady president and talk to her about health care. I have not gone down, although invited. I think it's presumptuous of me to say to Americans, please do this or please do that, it works well."