(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five Canadians would consider paying or going abroad to seek medical treatment, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 40 per cent of respondents would be willing to pay out of their own pocket to have quicker access to medical services that currently have long wait times, and 42 per cent would consider traveling to another country.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five Canadians would consider paying or going abroad to seek medical treatment, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 40 per cent of respondents would be willing to pay out of their own pocket to have quicker access to medical services that currently have long wait times, and 42 per cent would consider traveling to another country.
In Canada, the universality criterion establishes that all residents of a province or territory must be entitled to the insured, public-run health services provided by their provincial or territorial health care insurance plan on uniform terms and conditions.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Newfoundland and Labrador premier Danny Williams traveled to the United States to seek treatment for an undisclosed heart condition.
Conservative senator and retired heart surgeon Wilbert Keon discussed Williams’s decision, saying, "I can’t imagine anything that couldn’t be done in Canada that is done in America."
Newfoundland and Labrador deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale said that Williams would answer all questions related to the trip and the surgery "once he recovers," and added: "It was never offered to him as an option to have this procedure done in the province."
Polling Data
If you were able to, would you be willing to pay out of your own pocket to have quicker access to medical services that currently have long wait times?
|
Yes
|
40%
|
|
No
|
30%
|
|
Not sure
|
29%
|
If you were able to, would you consider traveling to another country to have quicker access to medical services that currently have long wait times?
|
Yes
|
42%
|
|
No
|
33%
|
|
Not sure
|
24%
|
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,001 Canadian adults, conducted on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, 2010. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
