Mr. Lord, who is also Chair of the International Federation of Health Plans, the Chair of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association and the President of the Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans, spoke on the value of a collaborative, patient-centred approach to health care.

“We need to put the patient first, not the ideology first.”

Mr. Lord said over the past two years he has observed a greater willingness among all health care stakeholders, from physicians to politicians “to do things differently.” He pointed to recent surveys which show that two-thirds of Canadians are open to publicly funded, privately delivered care.

“Canadians are ready for change.”

Mr. Lord emphasized the importance of new solutions and incremental change to ease the pressures on the health care system, namely an aging population, a health human resource crisis, a rise in chronic illness and barriers accessing care.

“We should aim for progress, not necessarily perfection.”

Mr. Lord also emphasized that funding alone will not solve what ails Canada’s health care system and , noted that about one-third of health care in Canada today is publicly funded and privately delivered.