Those Crazy Car Making Canadians

Paul Krugman says:

Funny, isn't it? Pundits tell us that the welfare state is doomed by globalization, that programs like national health insurance have become unsustainable. But Canada's universal health insurance system is handling international competition just fine. It's our own system, which penalizes companies that treat their workers well, that's in trouble.

But what does the Canadian Medical Association have to say?

Patients need to think about getting private medical insurance, says the head of the Canadian Medical Association.

It's time for the country to start talking about non-profit insurance co-operatives that patients could use to pay for uninsured medical procedures, "upgrade" their care and cover de-listed services like optometry and physiotherapy, according to Dr. Albert Schumacher.

In a signal of where the organization may be headed, Schumacher called the Canada Health Act a "monolithic dinosaur" carved in stone.

"If this was the auto industry, we'd all be driving Yugos," Schumacher, president of the 60,000-member association, said in an interview.