PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - C. Carruthers
TI  - Saying goodbye to Canada's single-payer system
DP  - 1995 Mar 01
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 731--733
VI  - 152
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/152/5/731.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/152/5/731.full
SO  - CMAJ1995 Mar 01; 152
AB  - Cost shifting, in which governments transfer the cost of certain health care services to patients or private insurance companies, is increasing rapidly, and Dr. Christopher Carruthers thinks it will spell an end to Canada's single-payer system. The signs are already there: the private sector is offering more services and employers are keeping a closer eye on the health care system as they begin to pay a bigger share of the costs. The result, says Carruthers, is that government influence is bound to diminish as the private sector tries to fill voids created by governments that are trying to live within their fiscal means.