Just as the debate over health care reform in the US begins to take on completely fantastical proportions, more evidence appears in Quebec showing the efficacy of public health delivery.
The Quebec government plans on widening the number of surgeries allowed in private clinics from three to 56 beginning at the end of September, and already some hospitals have contracted with clinics to provide supplementary services. Chief among them is Sacre Coeur hospital in Montreal which has used the Rockland medical center for the last little while.
The local health system regulating agency has just said it won’t sign a five year contract to extend this agreement. One of their arguments in the increased cost: The Gazette says that every surgery done at Rockland about $300 more than the $2,000 at the hospital. La Presse quotes spokespersons as fixing the difference at 30 to 40 per cent.
Without going into details about extra fees which may be charged at Rockland (called “tray fees”) or the question of whether such clinics really increase the availability of health services (if you’re dealing with a limited number of doctors and nurses, you’re really only shifting the services around,) this cost differential seems very strong evidence that private clinics don’t make health care any better. Why not just pump a little more government money into hospitals? It sure looks like it would go farther there than it does when paid to private clinics, which are providing a nice little return to those who invest in them.
Photo: Reuters from Le Devoir
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