“Why is the federal government letting Quebec get away with this violation, when it was so inflexible in the issue of extra-billing?” then federal health critic David Dingwall asked in May 1989.
Unfortunately, when he became Health Minister, he ignored the problem. So have all federal and provincial politicians. They have immediate, red-carpet health care and are not personally affected; only average working class persons — especially from Quebec — are.
This is not merely a matter of financial inconvenience. It can cause real hardship and adversely affect outcomes. A 2010 article in the Globe and Mail described a man living across the river from Ottawa who developed colon carcinoma. There was a year wait for a colonoscopy in West Quebec, and the Ottawa anesthetist refused to see him because he had Quebec insurance. He therefore waited several additional months until surgery could be done in Montreal. Sadly, by now he had extensive lymph node metastases, required high dose treatment, developed bowel obstruction and other complications, and died a couple of years later in great pain.
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