The debate over private MRIs remains at a stalemate, although the rhetoric surrounding the issue now feels more like a nuclear arms race.
Excessive rhetoric in politics is never helpful … or least it’s never helpful to anyone other than politicians looking for a cheap and easy way to rally people to their cause.
If ever there was an issue that needed a little thoughtful reason, it’s likely the issue of the federal government clawing back health public dollars that went to pay for supposedly necessary diagnostic services performed by private companies.
But don’t expect that to happen. Politicians here would far prefer to finger-point and spew the same old, tiresome rhetoric than actually do anything that might lead to a solution.
Expect this to only get worse after last week.
That puts Saskatchewan (and at least seven other provinces) at odds with the federal government’s 2020 policy directive supposedly about ensuring fees for diagnostic tests are covered by the Canada Health Act’s clause ensuring payment only comes from government.
“No Canadian should be paying out of pocket for medically necessary services,” declared federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, adding this is something the Liberal government will not tolerate.
Yes, the provinces were warned this would happen. But it seems legitimate to ask “Why now?” and “What good does Ottawa think will come out of this?”
Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman demanded the decision immediately be reversed, noting: “Private diagnostic imaging services have been available in Canada for nearly 30 years.”
The federal government should “recognize the benefits that Saskatchewan’s unique approach has for both patients and the public health system,” said Merriman, pointing to this province’s attempts to allow well-healed patients to jump the queue if they were willing to pay for a second MRI or CT scan for someone waiting in the public line.
The problem, however, is that Merriman has little evidence to suggest that what the Sask. Party is attempting to do has worked any better than what already didn’t work under the previous NDP administration.
Nevertheless, he told reporters Monday to expect more of the two-for-one approach, even hinting his combative government might now extend the two-for-one deal to surgeries.
After all, what else can the province do if Ottawa is going to cut health dollars? Merriman rhetorically asked.
The debate over private MRIs remains at a stalemate, although the rhetoric surrounding the issue now feels more like a nuclear arms race.
Consider Monday’s question period at the Saskatchewan legislature.
“Will he (Merriman) scrap this failed American-style health care?” asked NDP leader Carla Beck, noting a 63 per cent increase in wait times, but not mentioning that we just went through a pandemic that lengthened most such lists.
Merriman responded that his government has won two elections and seen 15,000 private scans since implementing its program, which would have meant another 15,000 scans in public delivery.
He did, however, note that the former NDP government had less problem with private, out-of-province MRIs used by the Saskatchewan Roughriders or its own Workers Compensation Board.
“(It was) good enough for the Riders, good enough for WCB, but not good enough for the rest of the province,” Merriman said during Monday’s question period.
“We are not stuck in the ideology of the NDP. We take our direction from the Saskatchewan people … certainly not the NDP and Justin Trudeau.”
The NDP’s Meara Conway countered that since the policy’s implementation, the biggest beneficiary has been the Sask. Party, with $26,000 in political donations from private imaging companies.
And so on it went: The NDP pulling out the rhetoric on two-tiered, user-pay health care versus the Sask. Party noting the NDP firing doctors, nurses and closed down hospitals. Sigh.
Other countries with public health care are finding ways to be more innovative.
But here, we would prefer to wallow in our rhetoric. Unsurprisingly, it’s why we remain stuck.
Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
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