If you care about the quality of health care services available in the province, you’ll be pleased to hear what the Saskatchewan government is doing. By working with certified health care partners, the government’s new service model will reduce wait times and costs for taxpayers.

The government’s plan is called “Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative” and is part of an overall strategy to reduce surgical wait times to less than three months.

Although it’s bold and will be sniped at from fear-mongering public sector unions, the government’s plan is really no different than what you do everyday – shop around for the best deal.
 
Instead of having patients wait long periods of time for a government-run hospital to provide day surgeries, the government is now asking the question –can anyone else provide the same quality of surgery in a shorter period of time and for a lower price?

Let’s be clear, a local mechanic will not be able to put up his hand and get a contract to provide your surgery because he’s willing to take a crack at it for $50. Under the government’s new system, partnering firms have to be licensed and monitored by the same body that currently oversees government facilities.
 
In other words, firms providing the service for the government can’t get away with cutting corners. The government’s partners won’t be able to get away with using scotch-tape instead of stitches and trained surgeons will not be replaced by mechanics.

Consider Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region’s recent partnership with Omni Surgery Centre. The partnership began when the health region asked the question – who can provide knee surgeries for less than the government’s cost?
 
Omni Surgery Centre responded with a price of $1,500 per surgery; $179 cheaper than the government’s cost of $1,679. And yes, the bill will still be covered by the government; it is part of the services you receive for your tax dollars.

You may be wondering how the private sector is going to provide the service for a lower price than the public sector?
First off, the private sector partner doesn’t have the same bureaucratic overhead that the government has, so it doesn’t have to factor those costs into the rates it charges the government.

Second, the firm will be driven by competitive forces – if it doesn’t keep its costs low and service levels high, another provider could come into the region and scoop up their contracts. Therefore, unlike in the public sector, the firm cannot pay sky-high salaries for administrative and cleaning staff, it will have to keep them competitive with the real world. That competitive force simply doesn’t exist in the public sector model.

Beyond knee surgeries, the government has also secured a contract with Omni for providing dental surgery at a rate that is 7% lower than the government’s. It is also in the process of finding a partner who can provide computed tomography (CT) scans for less than the government’s cost.

These are small steps toward reform of government-rationed health care, but they are steps all the same. More often than not, provincial governments would rather maintain the status quo then go head to head with powerful public sector unions who want to maintain their monopoly on the provision of health services.

Commendation to Minister Morris and the Wall government for taking steps that put the interests of patients and taxpayers first!