Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Should we spend more on health? Only if we get better care
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020
… what the premiers are proposing is that the feds absorb some of their current spending. They want Ottawa to transfer money rather than use their own powers of taxation to increase revenues… This pandemic, more than anything, has exposed the shortcomings in health and welfare systems, particularly in caring for elders and other marginalized groups. That’s what we need to fix. The last thing we need is buck-passing.
Tags: budget, child care, Health, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical, tax
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
What is it that Doug Ford doesn’t understand about pharmacare?
Sunday, September 20th, 2020
The premiers keep complaining about rising health-care costs, so why not embrace the one big idea that could control costs dramatically? COVID-19 is a time of crisis, but it also confers an economic opportunity for health care… Money need not be an obstacle, because a well-designed plan will pay dividends — not just in lower drug costs but in better health outcomes.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Long-term care operators call on Ontario government to address severe staffing shortage
Sunday, September 20th, 2020
Doris Grinspun, chief executive officer of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, is so frustrated with the government’s lack of action, she announced on July 31 that she will not reopen the VIANurse program if the province is hit with a second wave of the virus… “Nursing home residents deserve permanent solutions… We are done with Band-Aid solutions.” … The B.C. government unveiled a new program last week that will train up to 7,000 people to work as health care aides in long-term care homes. The government will pay the tuition costs.
Tags: disabilities, Health, housing, jurisdiction, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
B.C. moves to dramatically increase access to safe alternatives to illicit drugs
Thursday, September 17th, 2020
… the province significantly expands access to a “safer supply” to combat record overdose deaths caused by toxic street drugs…. the changes are the first step in undoing decades of harm caused by bad drug policy, and show that policy makers are listening to people on the ground. “Now the work begins on what drugs are available, what drugs we can access… we cannot continue to give drug users the least-sought-after drugs and expect them not to access the contaminated supply.”
Tags: crime prevention, disabilities, Health, ideology, mental Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Greed fuels fight for private health care
Thursday, September 17th, 2020
Justice John Steeves ruled that Day failed to show patients rights were being violated because of long wait times, noting the law was based on equitable access to care, not on a patient’s ability to pay… If the judge had ruled in Day’s favour, it would have been a nail in the coffin for public medicare… by opening the door for insurance companies and financial institutions to make a ton of money — the very people who will financially support Day and others fighting for private health care.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization, rights, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
A vaccine may not be the simple solution we are hoping for
Wednesday, September 16th, 2020
We… need to set realistic expectations for the possibility that vaccination does not eliminate COVID-19. Physical distancing, hand hygiene, improved ventilation of indoor settings, and indoor mask use are now a part of our daily routines, and will be with us for some time. This is the new normal and we should continue living by these principles to keep community rates as low as possible.
Tags: globalization, Health, participation, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Private pay is not the cure for the Canadian health system’s wait-time crisis
Monday, September 14th, 2020
… sometimes more money is what’s needed. But the evidence is clear that fixing wait times, including for the kinds of procedures at issue in the Cambie trial, does not require endless new resources…. Teams that involve non-physician professionals, such as nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and more, can also see people more quickly… The work of getting there will be tough; it requires leadership on the part of governments, system leaders, doctors and more.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
The real challenge is to expand medicare, not just save it
Sunday, September 13th, 2020
While Canadians sing the praises of public care, they actually spend close to a third of their health-care dollars in the private sector — on things like prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, physiotherapy and home care… The job now isn’t just to protect medicare as it is against efforts to chip away at it, but to extend public coverage into other areas. A comprehensive pharmacare program should top the list
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, rights
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
The landmark Charter challenge over private health-care wasn’t about what you thought it was
Sunday, September 13th, 2020
the heart of the plaintiffs’ argument… If governments are to impose a monopoly over the funding of health care, they have an obligation to see that it is provided in a timely fashion… User fees and private insurance may not be the answer to wait times, but it is not impossible that the system could be reformed in such a way as to make more efficient use of resources, without harm to the principle of universal public funding.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, rights
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Trudeau gets it wrong on Canada’s other health crisis
Monday, September 7th, 2020
Only Ottawa could take the big step of decriminalization and make addiction a health issue, not one for the justice system… it’s a political calculation on the part of the Liberals, who no doubt fear there are more votes to be lost than gained by taking that route… But if Trudeau truly wanted to follow the science, he would take a different approach to Canada’s other pandemic.
Tags: crime prevention, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
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