In essence we have prices set equal to zero for health care services in Canada. Couple those zero prices with a policy-induced reduction in the number of physicians trained in the 80s and 90s, and we have a typical shortage. We could reduce the size of this shortage if we allowed physicians to extra-bill, if we trained more physicians, and if we encouraged more physician immigrants. [digression: When I made this last argument 35 years ago, a physician called my home and yelled, "Do you really want some Korean working on you?" My response, "Yes, if she's any good. I'm not a racist, are you?"]
Since the price system is not being used to ration who receives medical services, other rationing schemes must be put in place. The most obvious one that we seem to think is in place is "first-come, first-served." We call for an appointment, we see a general practitioner, we get put on a list, we wait our turn.
But of course it is possible for more serious, needier cases to be moved up in the queue. Apparently the following things will help move one ahead of others in the queue:
Become a major-league professional athlete. Have you ever noticed that they seem to be able to get MRIs in no time flat while the rest of us wait months in the queue? Failing that I have been led to believe the following might help.
1. Go through the emergency room (i.e. wait for something to become serious enough that it is considered an emergency??). But maybe not on weekends if that's when the new recruits are put on duty.
2. Do not downplay your symptoms. Stoicism will only hurt you in the long run.
3. Get to know the various physicians in your area. They have a harder time turning down people they know once they are already in the emergency room.
4. Know your symptoms and ailments. Research things on-line. Be prepared.
From WSJOpinion a couple of years ago,
Politicians can't wave a wand and provide equal coverage for all merely by declaring medical care to be a "right," in the word that is currently popular on the American left.
There are only two ways to allocate any good or service: through prices, as is done in a market economy, or lines dictated by government, as in Canada's system. The socialist claim is that a single-payer system is more equal than one based on prices, but last week's court decision reveals that as an illusion. Or, to put it another way, Canadian health care is equal only in its shared scarcity.
When I moved to Canada, these things were not a concern. We had provincial health insurance in Ontario, but we also had extra billing: physicians who wanted to charge more than the provincial standard were allowed to do so, and many (especially specialists) did so. The idea of not having a family doctor or of waiting hours or months for treatment was beyond our comprehension.
I loved having a safety net for those who didn't have supplementary health insurance. But the extra billing meant that we had a supply effect: more physicians providing more services in total. Would that we could return to those halcyon days of yesteryear.