Better Medicare Health Summit spotlights Medicare’s future

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, members of the Canadian Health Coalition, alongside frontline health care experts, advocates, and care providers, attended the first-ever Better Medicare Health Summit, hosted by Canadian Doctors for Medicare. This important event brought some of Canada’s brightest minds together in pursuit of a shared goal—to protect and improve public health care across the nation.

Medicare and politics 

The summit began with a compelling and thought-provoking session led by Dr. Ryan Meili, addressing the intersection of health care and politics. Dr. Meili emphasized Medicare’s role as a defining Canadian institution and urged everyone to take action during the upcoming federal election. He reminded attendees that the power to protect and enhance our system lies within their vote and collective voice. With Medicare under pressure from privatization and other threats, Dr. Meili underscored the responsibility to ensure it not only survives but thrives for future generations. 

Reimagining primary care in Canada 

The urgent challenges in primary care were the focus of an insightful panel featuring Dr. Lindsay Hedden, Dr. Danyaal Raza, and Dr. Michelle Cohen. Their discussion delved into the root causes of the ongoing crisis and outlined a vision for a reimagined system. 

While accessible and high-functioning primary care is the foundation of a strong health care system, Canada continues to face significant barriers, including corporate delivery threats, rural access gaps, and systemic inefficiencies. The panel highlighted the benefits of a team-based primary care model that prioritizes community needs over investor profits. They also explored the importance of neighbourhood-based care and emphasized the need to organize primary care systems around the evolving and diverse needs of Canadians.

Private equity and the threat to public health care 

The afternoon opened with Dr. Henry Annan, economist Armine Yalnizyan, and Matthew Tracey, as they tackled the increasingly worrisome issue of private equity in Canada’s health care system. Their session highlighted how private equity firms have established footholds in critical health care areas like long-term care, surgical centres, pharmacies, and dental clinics. They warned that private equity’s profit-driven approach often leads to poorer outcomes, reduced access, and diminished care quality and emphasized that protecting health care from private equity is an essential step in safeguarding the integrity and public ownership of Medicare. 

Ending health care wait-times

The day concluded with a session addressing the current state of wait-times in the health care system. Dr. David Urbach explored the data behind growing delays in emergency departments, surgical referrals, and specialist consultations, emphasizing that variation in wait-times is the core issue. Dr. Urbach highlighted how uncoordinated referral networks create inequities for both patients and physicians, while also discussing solutions like single-entry models, which have been shown to reduce wait-times for consultations. He also emphasized that shared care and team-based models of care can significantly shorten surgery wait-times. The session underscored the importance of rethinking system efficiency and adopting innovative, equitable approaches to ensure timely access to care for all Canadians.

A collective movement for better Medicare 

At a time when public health care is under pressure from privatization and systemic inefficiencies, events like the Better Medicare Health Summit offer a much-needed reminder that improvements are possible—but only if we work together. 

Haylee Keyes is the National Director of Development and Community Engagement for the Canadian Health Coalition