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Tag: Ontario

Candian Politics: How to fix health care in Ontario (and the rest of Canada)

I like the ontario health care system; it has shown repeatedly that in a crunch; Ontario Doctors and Health Care workers can save your life and heal your ills.  Both of my parents are repeat Cancer survivors at zero cost (save gas) to them, I don’t think anyone south of the border can claim that save rare beneficiaries of other’s largess.

However, as some people have noted; the health care system in Ontario (and Canada) needs to change in order to maintain services.

Here is my Simple, if at times expensive, plan to save Health Care in Ontario:

No more paying for Medical Training

New doctors face long years of instruction and ongoing education costs; it’s expensive to become a doctor and then face paying for that education on a government paycheck.  Let’s make Education for ONTARIO doctors free.

  1. Fund education for General Practitioners at 100% if they sign a 10 year contract upon graduation that they will stay in Ontario and practice in one of the under serviced rural areas.  These are assigned via a lottery, rather than by any kind of relative need.
  2. Fund education for Specialists at 100% if that sign a 15 year contract upon graduation that they will stay in Ontario and practice in a central rural location.

These education benefits will ensure that Ontario will have a constant cycle of new doctors entering the system, these new doctors will be given a reason to settle in the various rural areas that they end up assigned to.  These contracts will be binding and contain penalties for early termination like the doctor having to pay back all granted funds plus earned interest at the prevailing rate when the contract was started.

At the end of the contract period doctors will be free to move on or stay in Ontario; however local incentive programs in the municipalities can be funded to retain those doctors (if necessary).  Ongoing education can also be funded as a further inducement to extend the medical service contracts.

The alternative is to continue to allow these same new grads to be lured away by the same material needs to other countries.

Imagine, 20-30 new doctors in Ontario’s rural areas each year, bringing the latest techniques and fresh enthusiasm to the job.   They will cut their teeth in Ontario and become the leaders of tomorrow.

What do you think?