The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has spent the last year on a national listening tour.

[Sandra Holdsworth]

To address our health care crisis, governments have been looking at every option – including a shift in the long-held balance of public and private health care in Canada.

To make sense of what that means to Canadians – and update our advocacy to reflect current realities – we spent the last year on a national listening tour.

Canada’s health system is broken.

Millions of people can’t get the care they need now, and many are no longer confident the health system they rely on will deliver in the future. The pressure on health workers, meanwhile, is driving record burnout, with some reducing their hours or leaving their jobs entirely.

To address this crisis, governments have been looking at every option – including a shift in the long-held balance of public and private health care in Canada.

To make sense of what that means to Canadians – and update our advocacy to reflect current realities – the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has spent the last year on a national listening tour.

Through surveys, at public events in partnership with The Globe and Mail, as well as focused dialogues with physicians and patients, we’ve heard from more than 10,000 Canadians – about what they want from the health system, where it’s falling short and solutions to bridge the gaps.

We also heard how difficult it can be to make sense of Canada's complex health system, the mix of public and private health services we have now, and how it's changing. You can learn more below, and read highlights from CMA discussions, surveys and a summary of available research evidence.

The opinions and experiences shared with us have helped us shape a draft policyOpens in a new window that we believe responds to Canadians’ core needs and and values. You can watch for the CMA’s final policy this fall, following feedback from health sector partners.

Understanding our health care system

Click on each card to reveal the facts behind common myths about public and private health care in Canada.

https://www.cma.ca/our-focus/public-private-care

[Sandra Holdsworth]

If you haven’t had a chance to review the survey results and new policy, I highly recommend that you do.