Canadians On Healthcare

Toronto, ON - It's clear that since the Quebec Supreme Court decision as a result of frustrations with wait times and the concerns about the delivery of the healthcare system, Canadians will consider a number of different approaches to a remedy. Their first choice is for a public system. A new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions finds that seven in ten (67%) Canadians would prefer "a not-for-profit" model where services are paid for by governments and individuals and delivered by the public sector" over "a for-profit model where services are paid for by governments and individuals and delivered by the private sector" (27%).

And, given the choice between Prime Minister Paul Martin and Conservative leader Stephen Harper more Canadians say they trust Mr. Martin to protect Canadian publicly funded healthcare (40% vs. 33%).

Canadians believe in equal access to healthcare: 90% of Canadians agree that access to healthcare should be exactly the same for everyone, regardless of their income.

Most (67%) Canadians say more private healthcare will result in healthcare professionals leaving the public system. Moreover, 62% think allowing people the option of paying for enhanced healthcare services would create a two-tier healthcare system - a better system for the rich, and a worse system for the poor and 61% think it would be the first step toward a for-profit Americanized Canadian healthcare system.

Ipsos Reid asked Canadians whether or not they would be able to afford to pay the price for a few medical services that are currently paid for through Canada's healthcare system; few indicate that they could. Three in four (76%) say they could not afford to pay $3,000-$6,000 for knee surgery; 67% say they couldn't pay approximately $1500 for an MRI; and 64% indicate that they could not afford to pay $1000-$1500 per eye for Cataracts surgery if they had to.

Seven in ten (70%) Canadians rate the quality of the current healthcare system in Canada as "good" (36%), "very good" (28%), or "excellent" (6%). However, a full 30% say it's only "fair" (20%) or "poor" (9%).

The survey also finds that most Canadians think more private involvement in Canada's healthcare system would lead to improvements in the availability (61%) and the quality (58%) of healthcare services offered in Canada. However, a majority (83%) feels that if our government just got their act together there would be enough money available to fund an excellent healthcare system without allowing people to pay for enhanced services. There may be conditions that are forcing Canadians to ponder these options, such as the lack of improvements in wait times for surgeries, the quality of publicly funded healthcare, and the level of media reports on private options.

What possible solutions to healthcare issues such as waiting times, physician and nursing shortages, Pharmacare, and infrastructure upgrades for patient care are Canadians in favour of in order to prevent the creation of a second tier of healthcare?

• 94% of Canadians think that wait times for surgical procedures should be shortened by opening unused and under-used operating rooms in public hospitals and keeping them open longer;
• 94% think more nurses should be hired to reduce waiting times to receive medical or surgical attention;
• 91% think coverage of publicly insured services should be extended to include access to home care, long-term care, mental health care and drug benefits;
• 85% think conditions and guidelines should be set for all federal transfer of funds to provinces for healthcare;
• 84% think prescription drug purchasing should be centralized nationally if it can be shown that it would save taxpayers' money (80% in May 2005);
• 79% think Canada should develop a national government financed Pharmacare program that would provide to Canadians most doctor-prescribed drugs without charge (up from 71% in May); and,
• 70% agree with increasing personal taxes by about fifty dollars a year to eliminate for everyone up-front costs for prescription drugs such as co-pays and deductibles and to provide prescription drug coverage to everyone not now covered (up from 62% in May).

When it comes to possible ways of addressing the current nursing and doctor shortage in Canada, a majority of Canadians favour most of the seven possible solutions measured:

• 91% of Canadians think grants and loans should be made more available to all nursing and medical students who demonstrate the financial need;
• 90% think there should be incentives for staying on the job to the most experienced nurses to help reduce the nursing shortage;
• 84% think any available surplus revenues should be used to pay for nursing programs (up from 73% in May);
• 64% think taxes should be raised on the top 10% of income earners (67% in May); and
• 56% think tax cuts for major corporations should be eliminated (52% in May).
• Canadians are split (49% support vs. 49% oppose) as to whether or not government revenue from programs such as higher education, defense, and child care should be diverted (up from 34% in May); and,
• One-third (34%) of Canadians think taxes on all income earners should be raised (up from 22% in May).

Finally, when it comes to which groups Canadians trust to comment about healthcare policy and reform, organizations representing nurses (77%) and doctors (73%) are trusted by most while many distrust politicians (63%), government (53%), and the media (48%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions poll conducted from January 2 to January 5, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1005 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Please open attached files to view full press release and detailed tables.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada - including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country - all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
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