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Every time I hear a government announce health policy change I judge it through the lens of whether it will move us closer to the kind of excellent care I received at a private hospital while on a family vacation, or further away.

The latest changes being considered by Health Minister Tyler Shandro get it half right and half dramatically wrong.

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A few years ago in Mexico, I developed shoulder pain so acute I couldn’t even tie up my swimsuit. The massage therapist told me to go to the resort doctor, which I did at 10 a.m. the next day. The doc told me I needed to see a specialist. I had two options. Wait for at least 18 months to see a specialist back home (she knew how Canada worked) or be treated that day.

I had travel insurance with Alberta Blue Cross so we opened a file. She drove me to the private hospital — nothing grandiose, just a regular five- or six-storey building — and got me checked in. I saw an emergency room doc to rule out a heart attack, then an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed bursitis. His assistant prepared a cortisone shot, which they administered immediately. He gave me a prescription to be filled at the onsite pharmacy. I was back on the beach by 2 p.m.