Stakeholder Views on Privatization of the Quebec Health Care System

Abstract

In 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark ruling in the debate on privatization of Quebec's health care system. The Quebec government subsequently made several decisions, such as lifting the ban on private insurance for some health services already offered in the public system. We interviewed 42 stakeholders who were involved in the decision process between 1999 and 2008 and analyzed their views. We identified three types of positions on privatization, based on two key factors raised in these encounters: (a) the ideological and political inertia of both civil society and the state and (b) the concerted action of stakeholders.