Quebec wants delay in ban on private medical insurance

The Supreme Court of Canada is considering a request from Quebec for an 18-month delay of its landmark judgment banning private medical insurance.

The Quebec attorney general says the delay is needed to protect public medicare from the harmful effects of a parallel, private health care system.

In a ruling on June 9, in the case of Quebecer Jacques Chaouilli, it was found that Quebecers' rights under the Quebec charter were being violated by long waits for medical care in the public system.

The same problem exists in all provinces and the ruling is widely seen as clearing the way for two-tier health in Quebec, and eventually across Canada.

The brief by Quebec warns that allowing the private system to grow would draw medical personnel away from the public system, which would ultimately damage the quality of care provided in that sector.

It says it is feared that an 'unregulated system of new private health services will produce negative effects on the capacity of the public health system to deliver services to the public efficiently and equitably, especially during the transition period'.

In its brief, the Quebec government does acknowledge that measures have already been taken to cut wait times, and that includes adding more than $4 billion in new money for health since 1999-2000.

Quebec is currently experiencing a shortage of doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical technicians, and health authorities are concerned that the arrival of services financed by the private sector, without special precautions, could compromise the efforts of the department and the whole network of health and social services because some participants would be able to operate outside the public system.

It is felt that with the shortages of human resources, the introduction of a private parallel system will need to be accompanied by rules to guarantee enough staff for the public system and a fair distribution of manpower in all regions.

Any new measures will need to be compatible with the Canada Health Act and NAFTA.

An inter-departmental committee of experts has already been created to respond to the judgment.

Although the federal government insists that a two-tier health care system will not happen in Canada, it has yet to offer any substantial proposal to ensure universality is preserved.

The issue will remain hanging over the next federal election campaign if an 18-month suspension of the ruling is granted.