Quebec health system in crisis

Guess what? The former health minister of Quebec admits that system he helped create ain't sustainable.

Claude Castonguay notes that the system has reached a "crisis" point.

Forty percent of the province's $60 billion budget is spent on health care -- and the costs are growing twice as fast as the economy.

A report, "Getting our Money's Worth," issued last week calls for user and access fees to cut incentives to make "free" doctor visits for minor ailments.

It also wants to eliminate the rule that prevents doctors from practicing in the public and private sector.

Castonguay says, " We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice."

Golly, a free enterprise system instead of a monopoly that does not work.

Someone please tell senators Obama and Clinton about this mess and point out that socialized medicine is not the way to glory?

James A. Wagner

Barrington