Takeover of Ontario Blue Cross may be sign MDs will soon face US-style managed care.

The privatization of health care is becoming a major issue on the Canadian health care agenda, with even the prime minister musing that the Canada's medicare system may no longer be able to cover all medical needs. This would appear to indicate that there will soon be a growing market for private health care in Canada, and the recent takeover of Ontario Blue Cross by an American company, the Liberty Mutual Group, is a sign this market is being recognized. Milan Korcok says the privatization trend holds major implications for Canadian physicians, who soon may witness firsthand US-style managed care.