June 2016
STRATEGIES TO PRESERVE
UNIVERSAL MEDICARE
FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS 
 

I was invited to be on a panel with four other doctors to discuss the "Future Of Healthcare" at the University of Toronto New College 2016 Alumni dinner.

One of the topics discussed was "how to preserve universal Medicare in Canada for the next 100 years".
Here is the gist of the discussion:

When you look at Canadian healthcare through the eyes of a trained health economist, it is clear that universal Medicare is not sustainable.

The demands on Medicare have risen exponentially since it's creation.

With huge advances in the medical field and a growing and ageing population, these demands are only increasing.

The reality is that we cannot continue on the same path we are currently on now.
Everyone knows that universal Medicare is not sustainable, but the current narrative is about legalizing recreational weed.

That's a revenue source for Ottawa and the provinces. That's easy.

The sustainability of universal Medicare is not front and centre. It is a much more challenging conversation.
The discussion at New College moved to healthcare in Australia where everyone has universal Medicare as a right. That's similar to Canada.

But about 30 years ago, the Australian government recognized that their single tier universal Medicare system was not sustainable.

The government, after considerable debate, created a private health insurance company called MediBank.

MediBank was an option priced for teachers, bakers, firemen and plumbers. It was not just for the top 1%.

MediBank successfully generated premiums paid by customers who opted in. These premiums were invested in the construction of private healthcare infrastructure.

The result was that Australians had both public sector healthcare infrastructure and private sector healthcare infrastructure.

The Australians had, in essence, created a financial hedge for Medicare.

The private sector lightened the load on the public sector.  There was shorter waits and greater efficiency because of competition.

Patients were moved between private and public systems at no cost to access specialized technology.

The doctors did not flee the public system because they were restricted by the regulators to working only a minor percent of their time in the private system.

As the discussion at New College continued, it became apparent that Canadians would be wise to observe Australia's strategy that will likely preserve and expand universal Medicare for Australians for at least the next 100 years.
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           Raymond Rupert MD. MBA.
           Founder/Medical Director
           Rupert Case Management Inc.
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           Toronto, ON M5N 1B1
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           email: info@rupertcasemanagement.com
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