Value(s) for money? Assessing Romanow and Kirby

Abstract

Many people have grave concerns that Canadian taxpayers have not received value for the time, energy and money spent on analysis of our healthcare system over the last 20 years. The number of reports and recommendations is enormous. Millions of dollars have been spent. While we have been busy studying healthcare costs, they have risen. How can Canadians judge if we have received our money's worth : Some criteria are: there would be greater clarity regarding the goals of healthcare system reform; citizens would understand the issues better; federal-political "wrangling" would be closer to resolution; agreement on long-overdue efficiencies would result in obvious improvement; major disagreements about the way forward would also be clearly understood; and finally, accountability to Canadians for acting on healthcare recommendations would be a reality.