A Healthy Balance: Small business perspective on health care
For more details
A Healthy Balance
Small business perspective on health care
Health care has become a key topic of discussion at the provincial and federal levels of government. The cost of health care has risen dramatically in the past several decades and is expected to continue to climb as a result of a number of factors, such as the escalation in drug costs, advances in technology and an aging population to name a few. Other concerns relate to the quality, accessibility and delivery of services. Governments have conducted numerous reviews to deal with these issues. At the federal level, the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, headed by former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow, is expected to release its final report this fall. While health care has long been a focus of debate within governments, owners of small- and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) have an important stake in health care, either as individual consumers of health care services, as employers who provide benefits to their employees or as private providers of health care services. Examples of the latter include seniors’ homes, visiting nursing services, equipment providers, laboratory services, and various types of health care providers based in private practices. Collectively, the private sector accounts for roughly one-third of the total amount spent on health care in Canada.
Given the crucial role health care plays in our society and our economy, CFIB has taken the opportunity to engage its members in the health care debate by conducting a national survey on the future direction of health care. A four-page background document accompanied the survey (see Appendix 1) to ensure respondents had relevant information on health care. The survey was conducted by mail and e-mail between May 21 and June 28, during which time 14,494 responses were received from small- and medium-sized businesses located in all regions and sectors throughout Canada. The survey results are accurate to within ±0.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
