1 Building on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada

Royal Commission into Canada’s Medicare system as there had been widespread concern about the direction health care in Canada was taking. This article examines the reasons for the Royal Commission, its findings, and their relevance to the Australian heath care system. Commercialisation of Health Care Most Western countries, with the exception of the USA, have a system of general health care insurance covering all citizens, usually funded through taxes. The philosophy behind general health care insurance systems is that health care is a Samaritan service offered by the community to citizens in need regardless of their status or circumstances. It is a common good based on shared community values. Economists and politicians across the globe have embraced and promoted competitive marketplace and global solutions to the world’s health care problems. Investors in the business community have been enthusiastic about the opportunities for growth and the profit that can be taken from the public purse. In Canada, this has resulted in the decline of many large public institutions in the last 20 years. (Buske 1997