Originally Posted by jayeff

The availability of privately-funded health care as an addition to a national program, seems entirely fair and reasonable. But this is the real world.

The Canadian national health system is harmed by bureaucracy and waste. While still cheaper and more broadly effective than - for example - the private-only system in the US, it is one of the most expensive, most flawed of all the national health programs. As private healthcare becomes widely available at a reasonable price, how long before opportunistic politicians start asking those who are covered if they really want to keep paying taxes to support that flawed system. Even before things go that far, you can guarantee those in government will begin to judge they can trim a little funding here and some more there, without undue protest, thus weakening national healthcare still further.