It always helps me expand the realm of possibility for what could be a better future in healthcare in the United States. Likewise, as Canadian provincial governments look toward the U.S. for models of care and delivery to import that would privatize and dismantle a perfectly good public healthcare system, the Canadian nurses look to American nurses and the CNA for our experiences, analysis and strategies. This was all recently brought home clearly to me again when I was invited by the NFNU to talk about our healthcare system and the challenges facing nurses on an international panel that also included nurses from New Zealand and Australia. Canadian nurses admit that their system isn't perfect, but it does a good job in providing a healthcare safety net for all Canadian residents. In Canada you never hear people worrying about being denied healthcare coverage for a pre-existing condition, or losing health benefits when they lose or leave a job.
All Canadian residents have a right to universal health insurance with comprehensive benefits.
Canadian acute care hospitals are publicly administered by the provincial governments. They are funded through global budgets through a rational planning process. For example, not all hospitals do open heart surgeries or offer obstetrical or specialty pediatric services. Healthcare facilities planning takes into account geographical availability of services and concentrating specialty care in designated hospitals - studies show that volume of specialty care leads to better outcomes. At issue is whether public services can or should be managed by private non-Canadians companies, essentially opening up their public services to multinational corporate plundering.