The Health Law, Ethics & Policy Seminar Series
presents
Colleen M. Flood
Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy
“Is Canada Odd? European and Canadian Approaches to Choice and Regulation of the Public/Private Divide”
Thursday, October 27, 2011
12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
84 Queen's Park, Falconer Hall, Solarium (FA2)
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C5
Map
Everyone is welcome to attend, no registration is required.
ABSTRACT
Choice is often touted as a means for change within health care systems. Yet ‘choice’, in this context, takes at least three distinct forms: choice between providers within a publicly funded health care system; choice between competing insurers within a universal plan; and, lastly, choice as between privately financed health care and universal public coverage. In Canada, it is this last form of choice that is under active debate; particularly in light of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Chaoulli, which found a regulation, banning private health insurance for medically necessary care was unconstitutional. The argument is frequently made that Canada is an outlier from other countries in having regulation that effectively precludes this kind of choice and a two-tier health care system. This issue is likely to become of concern again in upcoming constitutional challenges where applicants are looking to overturn through judicial challenges Canada’s Medicare system. In this presentation we test whether Canada truly is “odd” from a comparative policy perspective by exploring regulation of choice of privately financed health care in several European countries – the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, England and France. We highlight commonalities as well as differences, showing the extent to which these countries employ regulation to fetter growth of a large privately financed sector. Our thesis is that Canada, in employing more intrusive forms of regulation, is not an outlier per se but at one point in a regulatory spectrum.
BIOGRAPHY
Colleen M. Flood is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy. She was the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, from 2006 to 2011. She is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Toronto and is cross-appointed into the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the School of Public Policy. Professor Flood obtained her B.A. and LL.B. (Honours) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and her LL.M. and SJD from the University of Toronto, Canada. Her primary area of scholarship is in comparative health care policy, public/private financing of health care systems, health care reform, and accountability and governance issues more broadly. She has been consulted on comparative health policy and governance issues by both the Senate Social Affairs Committee studying health care in Canada and by the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (the Romanow Commission). She is the author of numerous articles, book chapters, and reports as well as the author and editor of seven books.
A light lunch will be served.
For other upcoming seminars, see the schedule online or contact m.casco@utoronto.ca.
The Health Law Ethics and Policy Workshop series brings local, national, international scholars and policy makers as guest speakers to the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto to stimulate discussion of issues related to the intersection of law with health care and related ethical and social issues. The series is organized by the Faculty’s Health Law group and is sponsored by the CIHR Training Program in Health Law, Ethics and Policy. The training program addresses the global shortage of experts in the multidisciplinary field of health law, ethics and policy by providing key learning opportunities and competitive scholarships to outstanding Canadian and international graduate students. For more information about the seminar series and/or the training program, please visit our website at: www.healthlawtraining.ca.
