Health Care

10 Years On—Revisiting the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative finds that private clinics were a key component of the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative (SSI), established to tackle medical wait times for non-emergency but necessary surgical procedures including knee and hip replacements, which reduced waiting times in the province by 47 per cent between 2010 and 2014 (when the SSI was in place).

The Private Cost of Public Queues for Medically Necessary Care, 2024 finds that long waits for surgery and medical treatment cost Canadians almost $3.5 billion in lost wages and lower productivity last year, with an estimated 1.2 million patients waiting for medically necessary treatment in 2023, and each losing an estimated $2,871 (on average) during working hours.