The School of Public Policy Releases Paper - Competition in Canadian Health
Care Service Provision: Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

Jane Ruseski, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Alberta

CALGARY , Nov. 10 /CNW/ - SPP Research Papers are published by The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary to provide timely, in-depth studies of current issues in public policy. The Health Series is a collection of research papers resulting from an initiative of the Institute for Advanced Policy Research (IAPR) within The School of Public Policy. The intention of that research initiative is to provide an objective and evidence-based assessment of the potential for reforming the manner in which health care is delivered and financed in Canada .

The following is an excerpt from the paper:

    
        Most provincial health care systems in Canada combine public, private
        non-profit, and private for-profit delivery. In Alberta, the Health
        Care Protection Act, known as Bill 11, allows the public to purchase
        certain insured surgical services from private providers. This
        legislation sparked a heated and ongoing debate in Canada about the
        role of competition in health care service delivery. The key question
        asked is what can be gained from introducing competition among
        hospital and physician services while maintaining a public payment
        system. This paper evaluates what has been learned from the recent
        literature on competition in health care markets in the context of
        expanding the role of the private sector in Alberta. The evidence
        does not provide a definitive answer. Competition introduced by an
        expanded private sector is likely to be beneficial on some measures,
        indifferent on others, but not likely bad.
    

The full text of the Research Paper is available at www.policyschool.ca. Click on link to publications.

For further information: or to schedule interviews with the author contact: Morten Paulsen, [phone], [email protected]