Premise:

Biblical Considerations:

As part of the gospel work, the miraculous healing power from God has often intervened to reverse pathologies of the body. However, healing is normally granted by God through means, such as medicines and doctors. Therefore the mastery of medical science is a worthy Christian pursuit, as a means by which we might advance the healing power of the Lord Jesus, relieving suffering and extending the length of human life.

Provision of medical care for the poor is a moral duty each individual must fulfill. As we see in the example of the good Samaritan, personal care and charity is the first avenue of response to the physical needs of one sick or injured. Similarly, in the Mosaic law and the NT letters we observe that the Christian community, through the tithe, was to care for the needs of the poor and needy[REF1]. Personal, gracious, voluntary ministry is to characterize the fundamental biblical approach to meeting medical needs in society.

It is expected then that the attempt by civil government to operate medical services outside its God-ordained mandate (i.e., to punish evil doers, Rom 13) would fail miserably. Administration of medical care is not a civil right to be guaranteed by the Federal government. As Christians we ultimately aim to remove government interference in the field of medical services and health care, restoring the role of personal giving to meet the needs of the poor. In seeking these ultimate reforms, incremental steps are necessary, and the proposal following is one such step.

POLICY MOTION ON HEALTH CARE

Whereas many medical conditions require prompt attention to facilitate recovery and to save the life of the person;

Whereas it is a violation of one's Charter right to security of the person to be subjected to a monopoly government operated medical system which cannot provide life saving services in a timely, effective manner;

Whereas government operated medical services a) lack personal patient-doctor accountability, b) lack efficient, free-market supply and delivery of services, c) lack economic accountability to ensure proportionality between services provided and the cost incurred;

Whereas "A Canadian government study recently found that only about half of patients are treated in a timely manner."

Whereas a Canadian can obtain prompt, effective medical treatment for his dog, but not for his child;

Whereas it is legal to obtain prompt, quality dental services from a private provider, but not legal to obtain an operation to remove cancer from a private surgeon;

Whereas it is not possible for some Canadian residents to travel abroad (passport requirements) to obtain prompt, efficient, patient-oriented medical services;

Whereas competition will provide an incentive for government operated hospitals to be more progressive, efficient and effective in their delivery of medical services;

Whereas the European Union allows citizens to select the best health care provider to meet their needs from among other EU countries;

Whereas universal funding and bureaucratic government control lead to absurdities and inefficiencies;

Whereas thoughtful citizens would not trust the government to manage their personal finances, and for the same reason government bureaucracy is not capable of effectively managing the economics of health care;

Therefore, we would allow the establishment of privately funded and privately operated medical centres, which would provide local delivery of health recovery and life saving treatments, diagnosis and surgery for patients who believe they are not being served adequately by the government operated hospitals.

FURTHER EXPLANATION:

FOOTNOTES:

REFERENCES:

http://www.timelymedical.ca