HEALTH CARE BOMBSHELL

This story is a bombshell, and could change the parameters of the health care debate in this country...

Canada's Supreme Court dealt a powerful blow to the state monopoly on health care yesterday, striking down a Quebec ban on private health insurance for services provided under the country's system of universal coverage.

Although the unanimous ruling applies only to Quebec, it is expected to spur similar cases in other Canadian provinces and accelerate a growing movement pushing for more private care.
In recent years, Canada's Medicare was plagued by long waiting lists and a lack of doctors, nurses, and state-of-the-art equipment. Some patients wait months for surgery, MRI machines are scarce, and many Canadians travel to the United States for treatment.

Those of us who have criticized the Canadian system in the past (generally as part of a debate over whether or not such a system should be created here in the States) have to see this as a vindication of our position.