I was somewhat dismayed to read the CMAJ editorial regarding parking fees1 given the need for sober and serious debate about the real funding issues in our current health care system. Just as a popular physician movement likes to point out that there is “no free lunch,” I would like to point out that there is no free parking. Many might be puzzled by this statement because they experience daily the convenience of parking at big box retailers. However, retailers and landlords often work into their price point or leases “fees” for parking. Hospitals and medical clinics have no capacity to do this.
My cynicism for political motives leads me to believe that the politicians in the United Kingdom who outlawed parking fees for patients bought votes from patients, not parking spots for patients.
Although editorials such as these are provocative and entertaining, they distract from the real issues surrounding health care sustainability and access problems.