Canadians don’t get public vs. private healthcare

More than half of Canadian employees who have yet to deal with the healthcare system expect their plan sponsor to provide high level support, finds the Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey.

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“There’s a wide grey area in terms of what is being covered by the various healthcare providers, and employees are not so sure where to turn for guidance,” says John McGrath from Great-West Life Assurance Company.

He adds, “These findings should act as a wake-up call for a better collaboration between stakeholders, as a significant portion of plan members who are affected by chronic illness or injury could be losing time and productivity because they don’t know where to turn for services and coverage.”

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Regionally, Atlantic Canadians (66%) are the most confused about the public-private healthcare maze, followed by those in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec (63%). Fewer Ontarians and Albertans (60%) hold a similar stance, with British Columbians (54%) are the least likely to need help.

Further, less than half who have had to navigate between the public and private systems received good assistance from their employers.

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Additional findings include:

• 81% of plan members and 90% of employers agree workplace-based health promotion programs maintain the sustainability of the public healthcare system over the long-term;
• 74% would like their workplaces to allow public health programs such as flu shot clinics, disease screenings or health risk assessments to be available on-site during work hours; and
• 91% of employers would implement immunization clinics if supported by tax incentives.