Of course it isn't, and it never was. Health care is very expensive, and so long as people think it's free, they'll continue to abuse it. Handing health care over to the insurance companies is a recipe for disaster for those who cannot afford it and even for many of those who think they can.
On the other hand, we can't continue to treat the health care system as if it were indeed a free ride. In Ontario, there are already many areas of health care that we have to pay for out of our own pockets. For example, dental, denturist, therapeutic and chiropractic care in addition to paying the first hundred dollars for prescription drugs and the cost of each prescription. And if you have a terminal illness, you or your family would be charged for hospice care after a month or so. But some user fees, especially for non-emergency ER visits, need to be imposed on the system before it becomes unsustainable. But our current Health care, a free ride? Hardly.
William Bedford
CFP “Poet in Residence” William Bedford was born in Dublin, Ireland, but has lived in Toronto for most of his life. His poems and articles have been published in many Canadian journals and in some American publications.
