Romanow or Ralph:
The choice for Canadians is now clear

Now that the Romanow Commission has released its long awaited report on the future of health care, the choice for Canadians is "crystal clear," says Friends of Medicare, the group that has led the fight against health care privatization in Alberta.

"On one hand we can choose the vision for health care reform being championed by people like Ralph Klein and Don Mazankowski," says Friends of Medicare spokesperson Christine Burdett.

"It’s a vision of a shrunken public system – a vision that will see more and more of our health services handed over to the private sector. But now, Mr. Romanow has given us an alternative vision. It’s a vision of a revitalized public system – a system that’s there for people when they need it. For those of us at Friends of Medicare our preference is clear. We embrace the public vision of health care. And we applaud and endorse the Romanow report."

Burdett says the Romanow report represents "the best chance we will probably ever get to save Medicare and update it for the 21st century," adding that Canadians should not be swayed by the predictable opposition and nay-saying coming from advocates of commercialization in health care.

"The Alberta government and other supporters of private health care have tried to dismiss the Romanow report as an unimaginative document that mindlessly defends the status quo," says Burdett.

"But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we at Friends of Medicare support the Romanow report largely because it does break from the status quo – because it does recommend bold and innovative changes."

Burdett says the Friends of Medicare are particularly pleased that Romanow is calling for an expansion of Medicare to cover homecare and prescription drugs in the case of "catastrophic illness"; that he is calling for new funding arrangements that promote stability and enhance accountability; and that he is calling for major changes to how we organize the delivery of primary care.

"These are not tired old policies. This is not the status quo. What Mr. Romanow is proposing is nothing short of a re-birth for Medicare," says Burdett.

Burdett also says that the Romanow report is also significant because it lays to rest the myths that Medicare is unsustainable and that privatization is the only answer.

"Based on the exhaustive investigation conducted by the Commission, we feel it is appropriate to say that the debate over public versus private delivery is effectively over," says Burdett.

"The facts are in – and for-profit health care has failed the test. Anyone who continues to advocate privatization in light of these findings does so knowing that the evidence does not support their position."

Burdett says that the challenge now is to take the report that Mr. Romanow has crafted and put it into practice. But that’s not going to happen unless ordinary Canadians start putting pressure on their elected representatives, she adds.

"We need to tell our leaders to get behind the Romanow report. We need to warn them not to squander this historic opportunity to preserve and strengthen Medicare."