Public or Private Care: Debate Close to Home

Health care is a big issue for people. People get sick and they want reliable services when that happens. Yet, for some time health services have been strained. So, along comes the Maples Surgical Centre in Winnipeg. The Centre's solution? Allow people to pay out of pocket (up to $700) to receive MRIs in less than 2 days. This shortens the lineups for people waiting for tests. Problem solved, right?

In the first place, I don't feel people should have to be asked to pay for health services. We pay taxes for that, so they shouldn't have to pay twice. As for shortening wait times? The main culprit in wait times is lack of medical professionals available. How does the MSC coming in provide more medical professionals. The article also states that MSC has hired some staff away from the public hospital Health Sciences Centre, and while we cannot say with certainty that it will have any impact on wait times, there is that possibility. This doesn't leave many options for people with limited means to pay, and whether it's an out-of-pocket expense or covered through insurance, it is one more expense people have to contend with. Allowing people to pay to receive services faster, therefore, seems to be merely shuffling around existing resources without attacking the root of the problem.