While Canada seems on cusp of embracing two-tier health care, Ireland is struggling to limit it

The introduction of private health insurance in Ireland allowed a two-tier system to develop with long waiting lists in the public system and limited financial protection for households, says Steve Thomas.

This column is an opinion by Steve Thomas, director of the Centre for Health Policy and Management at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He has been studying the issue of privatization in Canada, is the author of a chapter on Canadian health care in the book ‘Is Two-Tier Health Care the Future?,’ and has collaborated with the University of Toronto and University of Ottawa. For more information about CBC’s Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

Be careful what you wish for, Canada.

One way or the other, Canadian courts are about to make some key decisions about the role of private financing and practice in the health care system; the Cambie case in British Columbia is just the latest attempt to overturn fundamental components of publicly funded medicare.

Closing arguments were made last week and the decision in this legal case, which is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, will have ramifications for decades and for millions of people. Continue reading →