Parties unite on mental health push in Ontario
Friday, October 8th, 2010
October 7, 2010
In a bid to boost mental health services in Ontario, opposition parties are teaming up with former Ontario health minister David Caplan on a private member’s bill to streamline the system from childhood to adulthood. His bill would shift responsibility for children’s mental health efforts to the health ministry from the ministry of children and youth services…. The problem is that, with different ministries in charge, adolescents “get lost” in the system and need to be re-evaluated as they pass from one level to the next…
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
$45M dental-care boost protects poorest children
Friday, October 1st, 2010
October 1, 2010
Ontario is expanding free dental services for poor children to include preventative care such as check-ups, cleanings, X-rays and fillings… The free services will be available immediately through Ontario’s 36 public health units, but parents must first fill out applications and meet eligibility rules — having an family net income below $20,000 and no access to other dental coverage. Details are available at www.ontario.ca/healthysmiles.
Tags: mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Working poor shut out of dental cash
Friday, June 11th, 2010
June 11, 2010
Deb Matthews said the province doesn’t have the resources to keep a promise of providing a dental plan for Ontario’s impoverished adults. Instead, the $135 million earmarked three years ago for affordable, routine care for adults struggling to pay the pricey fees of licensed Canadian dentists, will go to their children… Thirty two percent of Canadians do not have dental insurance and 17 per cent of residents across the country avoided seeing a licensed dentist last year because of cost, according to a recent Health Canada report.
Tags: Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
McGuinty pushes pharmacare again
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
May 19 2010
Ontario’s controversial reforms cutting the price of generic drugs in half could help point the way to a national pharmacare program, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday… Provinces and territories could combine their buying power, McGuinty argued. The feds rejected the plan provincial premiers put forward years ago, estimating the cost at about $12 billion a year and fearing the cost would have to be borne by Ottawa.
Tags: budget, Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | 1 Comment »
Ontario modernizes not-for-profit groups
Friday, May 14th, 2010
May 12 2010
“We have to make sure there’s some accountability and transparency”… by setting up a more stringent legal framework groups must follow, such as better access to financial records, setting out responsibilities for boards of directors and giving group members more remedies to go after boards not seen as acting in a group’s best interests… The bill would also make it easier for not-for-profit groups to incorporate, better protect directors and executives from personal liability and allow groups to engage in commercial activities, providing the revenues are reinvested in their not-for-profit activities.
Tags: featured, participation, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »
Drug store health not a concern, McGuinty says
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Apr 14 2010
… officials circulated what they said was an internal e-mail from a major pharmacy chain detailing its communication plan to fight the reforms. Dated March 17, the two-page document urged a “very aggressive” outreach campaign to convince customers and patients the reforms could hurt pharmacies and hint at continuing the effort until the October 2011 election campaign.
Tags: Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Reforms to cut generic drug prices
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
April 8, 2010
Patients with prescriptions for generic drugs would pay about half the current cost under controversial new reforms touted Wednesday by Health Minister Deb Matthews. But pharmacists warn the lost income – $535 million annually by the government’s count – will leave them with fewer staff, less time and shorter hours of business to serve customers, and perhaps some store closings… The looming battle for public opinion between the government and pharmacists hinges on almost $800 million a year in “professional allowances” paid by generic drug manufacturers to druggists.
Tags: Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | 5 Comments »
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