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Surgeries cost up to 150 per cent more in private clinics: Quebec study

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

“. . .in 2019-2020, the cost of a carpal tunnel surgery averaged $908 in the private sector compared to $495 in the public sector; a short colonoscopy cost $739 in the private sector compared to $290 in a public institution,” said Anne Plourde, researcher, Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS), about the Institute’s findings on the costs of surgeries and other procedures performed in the private sector in Quebec…

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Canadians want it, doctors want it, so let’s get pharmacare done

Thursday, May 12th, 2022

Canadians should be appalled by how much time is spent every day by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others working around the lack of real drug coverage in Canada… As stated in the petition, Philpott and Martin call for advancing the timing and scope of Canada’s plans – starting with universal, public coverage of essential medications before the end of 2022. Meanwhile, the government has promised to pass a Canada Pharmacare Act in 2023…

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Big Pharma wins in Liberals’ watered-down drug price regulations

Saturday, April 30th, 2022

A universal, single-payer, national pharmacare strategy remains elusive for Canadians, but the pharmaceutical industry continues to rake in profits while the government scales back regulatory changes on drug pricing… The Globe and Mail reported that the government is also cancelling plans from 2019 to force drug companies to disclose net prices and will instead continue to rely on publicly-listed prices. This, despite the government’s declaration that public prices do not reflect the true price tag.

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Responding to federal budget 2022

Friday, April 15th, 2022

“While the commitments to implement national pharmacare, dental care and affordable housing are encouraging, without meaningful action in the budget to address the crisis in health staffing, it simply falls far short of what patients and health care workers needed to see.” – Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)… There was also hope the government might address the under-paid and under-resourced nature of much of the care economy… Unifor

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NUPGE report warns against privatization through virtual health care

Wednesday, January 26th, 2022

… the increase in ‘virtual’ health care during the pandemic is creating more private, for-profit delivery of health services…. “However, any for-profit virtual clinic that continues to bill users directly, or through private insurance plans, appears to be at odds with the preamble of the Canada Health Act, which calls for ‘continued access to quality health care without financial or other barriers.’”

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