Le régime d'assurance-maladie du Canada--Arrive-t-il à un tournant?

Canadians' support for the underlying values and structures of medicare still remains extremely high, according to all recent public opinion studies. However, their confidence is being tested by the persistent advocacy that increased private-for-profit payment and delivery be introduced in orde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian psychology = Psychologie canadienne Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 9 - 18
Main Author Romanow, Roy J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
French
Published Educational Publishing Foundation 01.02.2006
Subjects
Government Policy Making
Health Care Policy
Human
Medicare
Mental Health
Mental Health Services
Needs
Public Opinion
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Summary:Canadians' support for the underlying values and structures of medicare still remains extremely high, according to all recent public opinion studies. However, their confidence is being tested by the persistent advocacy that increased private-for-profit payment and delivery be introduced in order to guarantee medicare's future sustainability. Patience is further being challenged as the public eagerly awaits (but does not yet sees) productive reforms actually being implemented into the system. Delay erodes public support. Alternative "solutions" gain currency. Thus, the public-private debate must be engaged fully and emerge from the shadows of public policy so that Canadians can determine its efficacy and its compatibility with our society's values. Therefore, the long overdue reforms also need to be advanced. One of the most urgent reforms to medicare should address mental health needs and concerns, which I have described as being "an orphan of medicare." An essential first step would be to construct a basic platform of care and research on issues of mental health. This platform would provide necessary, immediate services for those in need and, at another level, would provide the impetus for further solutions to the wide-ranging needs in this field. Overall, the snail's pace of reforms has caused many Canadians to speculate that the future of medicare is at the crossroads on mental health policies and other issues, like accountability, quality, adequate reporting and health outcomes. The time to act is now. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ISSN:0708-5591
1878-7304
DOI:10.1037/h0087039