91: Is Private Healthcare the Solution to Canada's Healthcare Crisis?

Business is Good with Chris Cooper

Canada’s universal healthcare system is a source of pride—but it’s breaking under the weight of rising demand, longer wait times, and shrinking access to services. In this episode, I ask a tough but necessary question: could introducing a paid tier actually save our healthcare system?

We explore:

• Why the current public model isn’t sustainable
• The myth of the “two-tier” system—and the four real quadrants that exist today
• How private options can actually reduce pressure on the public system
• Data-backed examples of care that improved when delisted (chiropractic, physio, eye care)
• How this model could encourage more doctors to enter the field, especially in family practice
• How it could attract foreign-trained physicians
• Why Canadians are already paying for care elsewhere—and why that’s a problem

Finally, I leave you with three questions to challenge your perspective:

1. What if a family wanted to pay for their loved one’s private addiction treatment?
2. What if private care required public service from doctors?
3. What if we could double our number of physicians in 10 years?

This isn’t about abandoning universal healthcare—it’s about saving it.