REACTION: Quebec is right to emulate Sweden’s health care guarantee, says MEI

• The adoption of a health care guarantee model was one of the MEI’s budgetary recommendations.

Montreal, March 12, 2025 — By offering to reimburse Quebecers for treatment by private specialists when delays in the public healthcare system are too long, the Quebec government would improve access to health care, says an MEI researcher in response to a report by Radio-Canada this morning.

“Access to health care is not just a function of cost, but also oftimeliness,” maintains Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI. “By covering the costs for out-of-pocket treatments, Health Minister Christian Dubé will help restore accessibility for everyone who has to settle for access to a waiting list.”

Radio-Canada reported this morning that Santé Québec was preparing a regulation intended to provide public coverage for certain specialized care outside a reasonable waiting period.

This approach is similar to the health care guarantee adopted by Sweden in 1992 and reformed in 2005.

In a 2022 research paper, the MEI explained that this guarantee promises Swedish patients access to treatment from a specialist within a maximum of 90 days of their diagnosis, failing which they can seek treatment elsewhere at the expense of the establishment that initially treated them.

In its budget submission to the Quebec government last January, the MEI recommended adoption of this type of treatment guarantee to reduce healthcare waiting times.

“We’re pleased to note that Quebec recognizes that the private sector is an enemy, but rather a partner in providing better access to care,” adds Ms. Faubert. “We hope the ministry will take this opportunity to reconsider its decision to put the mini-hospital project on ice.”

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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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