Dear Editor,
Day’s team argues that the public health-care system is a failure and that B.C.’s private clinics offer essential services for British Columbians. Only the wealthiest British Columbians can afford private care. Furthermore, when profit becomes the bottom line even affluent patients can lose. Studies show that for-profit facilities often cut corners to reduce costs — typically through lower staffing levels of skilled professionals — leading to a lower quality of care and higher mortality rates. In the United States, private insurers select for the least complicated medical conditions because they are more profitable, leaving patients with more complex healthcare needs to the public sector. Private, for-profit delivery is costly. Heightened administrative costs, a focus on investor profits and increased government expenses associated with creating and enforcing regulations for private providers all add up over time.
My husband is a senior diabetic and we wouldn’t be able to afford the excellent care he has received here in Vernon if we had to pay a private clinic.
Sincerely,
Christine Bennett
Vernon