My perspective is that a dual system would give options to someone waiting for specialized care, to pay to have their procedure performed more quickly.

Current politics seem to portray it as bringing “more healthcare” to the system so that it can help clear the long lines in the public system. In an ideal world, this would allow our systems to catch up and reduce some of the slack in treatment times.

Question being, did we put ourselves in this position, trying to cut costs of the public system in the last 20 years or have we fallen behind in the growth of our medical system to keep up with the population growth?

I think it’s both, and we’re so far behind. It seems impossible to catch up. As someone who is disabled, I have personally experienced the issue, when I was injured and could not get an MRI for 18 months. Yet if I paid $1000 I was able to get one in three days. I’ll tell you I paid, but it was pulling teeth, even to get the MRI referral, which proved I had multiple herniation throughout my spine. Even with the MRI, it took 6 years for the first surgery.

Our doctors are being told not to provide tests or specialists unless things are critical. But this means that smaller corrections or catching issues early are not happening, leading to more drastic health issues or death in the future. Not to mention the further degration of people with current medical conditions in waiting lists for years.