In this edition of #CareTalk, CareCentrix CEO John Driscoll and I have a little fun at the expense of our neighbors to the North. Will Canada build a wall along its Southern border to keep out US patients?
Overview:
(0:43) Are Canadians right to worry that Americans are going to clean out their pharmacies, leaving nothing for the locals?
(1:43) What are “authorized generics” and are they a good idea?
(3:22) Are skilled nursing facilities a piggybank for accountable care organizations?
We usually think of Canada as a divided nation, with the province of Quebec perennially at odds with the rest of the county and threatening to secede. I was in Montreal over the weekend and it’s fair to say there wasn’t much evidence of enthusiasm for the upcoming Canada Day (the rough equivalent of our 4th of July).
When it comes to stoking national pride, Canadians and Quebecers are united in their appreciation for universal health care and the Canadian passport. They also see eye-to-eye on the importance of the monarchy, Air Canada and Tim Hortons as national symbols, in that they don’t find them particularly important.
A national survey asked the question, “How important are each of the following as a source of personal or collective pride in Canada?”
Universal healthcare scored highest. Seventy three percent of Canadians and 70 percent of those from Quebec ranked it as very important. Anglophones and Francophones responded the same way.
We usually think of the United States of America, but when it comes to healthcare that is certainly not the case. If anything, Americans might be united against the idea of a Canadian-style system.
Kind of odd, then that the people living under that regime are so proud of it.
