PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Raisa Deber
AU  - Alina  Gildiner
AU  - Pat  Baranek
TI  - Why not private health insurance? 2. Actuarial principles meet provider dreams
DP  - 1999 Sep 07
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 545--547
VI  - 161
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/161/5/545.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/161/5/545.full
SO  - CMAJ1999 Sep 07; 161
AB  - What do insurers and employers feel about proposals to expand Canadian health care financing through private insurance, in either a parallel stream or a supplementary tier? The authors conducted 10 semistructured, open-ended interviews in the autumn and early winter of 1996 with representatives of the insurance industry and benefits managers working with large employers; respondents were identified using a snowball sampling technique. The respondents felt that proposals for parallel private plans within a competitive market are incompatible with insurance principles, as long as a well-functioning and relatively comprehensive public system continues to exist; the maintenance of a strong public system was both socially and economically desirable. With the exception of serving the niche market for the private management of return-to-work strategies, respondents showed little interest in providing parallel coverage. They were receptive to a larger role for supplementary insurance but cautioned that they are not willing to cover all delisted services. As business executives they stated that they are willing to insure only services and clients that will be profitable.