Social Policy in Ontario

Public health care advocates support targeted federal spending boosts for provinces

Posted on February 4, 2022 in Health Debates

Source: HealthCoalition.ca — Authors: CDN Health Coalition

HealthCoalition.ca
February 2, 2022.   By CDN Health Coalition

Public health advocates are calling for federal health care dollars for the provinces and territories to come with strings attached, countering the demands for more unconditional federal dollars from provincial and territorial leaders.

“Of course, governments need to spend more on our overstretched system,” said Canadian Health Coalition chairperson Pauline Worsfold, RN. “And we need to ensure any increases to the Canada Health Transfer provide measurable improvements and accountability in health care for people in Canada.”

Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders will meet on Friday, and winning an increase to federal funding through the Canada Health Transfer is at the top of their agenda. But they have resisted any strings being attached to more dollars.

“Canada’s unions will keep pushing for new investments to be tied to achieving real improvement to our public health care systems,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, a member of the Canadian Health Coalition.

“The simple reality is, handing out blank cheques to Conservative premiers won’t fix nursing shortages, repair long-term care, provide better mental health services or implement pharmacare,” said Bruske.

A 2021 study by the Commonwealth Fund compared the health systems of 11 high-income countries and found Canada had the worst performing health care system for dollars spent, save for the United States.

https://www.healthcoalition.ca/public-health-advocates-support-targeted-federal-health-care-spending-boost/

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Canada Health Transfer needs to be balanced with conditional funding for targeted health care programs, such as pharmacare: Staples

HealthCoalition.ca
December 20, 2021.   CDN Health Coalition

I was very surprised by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s suggestion that the $4.5-billion announced in the economic and fiscal update to fight Omicron might not actually be used for this purpose.

“We are spending a lot of money on health care. We are trusting the provinces to use these tools to fight COVID,” the finance minister told CTV’s Evan Solomon.

My question is: should the federal government be transferring billions to provinces for health care and simply trust them to spend it as intended?

The Canadian Health Coalition has warned the federal government against making unconditional health-care spending boosts to provinces through the Canada Health Transfer. Once the cheque is cashed, provinces are largely free to spend the transfers any way they wish, including decreasing their share of health care spending, buying pipelines, or even cutting corporate taxes.

We are fortunate the government can provide urgently needed funds quickly to fight the pandemic. At the same time, the Canada Health Transfer needs to be balanced with conditional funding for targeted health care programs, such as pharmacare.

A national, universal single-payer public drug plan will help make life more affordable for people in Canada, improving health outcomes and relieving pressure on hospitals because patients can access their preventative medications, rather than ending up in the emergency room.

The finance minister said, “Our guiding principle will continue to be the conviction that the best economic policy is a strong health policy.” Targeted health-care programs, such as pharmacare, will play an essential role in achieving this goal.

Steven Staples
National Director of Policy and Advocacy
Canadian Health Coalition

https://www.healthcoalition.ca/health-coalition-urges-billions-in-health-transfers-be-balanced-with-pharmacare/

Tags: budget, featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical

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