Archive for the ‘Health Policy Context’ Category
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The future of medicare shouldn’t be left up to the courts
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020
Most countries with universal health care have a mix of public and private provision and payment of care… Canada actually has more private spending and a greater dependence on private insurance than virtually every other country with universal health care… for prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, hearing aids, home care, long-term care and much more. Surely many of these services are “medically necessary,” but public access and funding is greatly lacking. Ultimately, we need to decide what is covered by medicare and what isn’t.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, privatization
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StatsCan report analyzes cannabis use since legalization
Friday, February 28th, 2020
A new Statistics Canada report on cannabis says use of the substance is up, riding in a vehicle with a driver who has consumed is down, and more Canadians are obtaining their cannabis from legal sources… More frequent users are at the highest risk of problems… Early indications from this study suggests use among Canadian youth has not increased. However, cannabis use at older ages and overall prevalence did increase.
Tags: Health, mental Health, youth
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Canadians with mental illness deserve access to medical assistance in dying
Tuesday, February 18th, 2020
There is no evidence vulnerable patients are being pushed into assisted death against their will. If anything, the contrary is true. MAID has become an option for the elite, while people with physical and mental disabilities have repeatedly had to turn to the courts to have their right to choose respected… We don’t insist that patients with terminal cancer content themselves with hopes and prayers, and we shouldn’t expect people with intractable mental illness to do so either.
Tags: ideology, mental Health, rights
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Should government have a say in what drugs are prescribed to patients?
Wednesday, December 18th, 2019
Canada is slow to approve new biosimilars; since 2006, Health Canada has approved only six, compared with 13 approvals by the European Medicines Agency. We also have among the highest prices in the world for both biologics and biosimilars, so more co-ordinated and aggressive price negotiations are required.
Tags: budget, Health, mental Health, pharmaceutical
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CMHA Ontario provides recommendations on Bill 116
Tuesday, December 17th, 2019
The Ontario government’s proposed Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence must focus on implementing core mental health and addictions services provincially, rigorous data collection and health quality improvement initiatives… CMHA Ontario… also advised that any funds recouped from opioid manufacturers through litigation would be best directed to front-line addictions care…
Tags: disabilities, Health, mental Health, pharmaceutical
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Myth Busting: Drug Spending, Prices and Pharmacare
Friday, December 6th, 2019
There are many individuals who lack sufficient coverage for prescription medications… But to address those gaps, it is important to understand the real challenges to achieving the goal: the fiscal pressure of high-cost treatments for relatively few beneficiaries and a lack of coverage for a minority of Canadians.
Tags: Health, ideology, participation, pharmaceutical, poverty, standard of living, tax
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A tricky operation: Finding a place for private health insurance in a public system
Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019
Every health insurance program in the developed world, public and private, is struggling with a daunting triple challenge: An aging population, the soaring cost of new technologies and rising consumer expectations… private sector efficiency is a myth. Private hospitals keep patients longer, order more tests, prescribe more drugs and provide a lot of low-value or no-value care. They overtreat and overcharge… private hospitals are not going to solve the woes of Canadian medicare
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, privatization, standard of living, tax
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Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Requires a Made-in-the-USA Solution
Friday, November 22nd, 2019
“Canada represents only 2% of global pharmaceutical consumption vs. America’s 44%. In fact, the state of Florida alone spends more than all of Canada on prescription medicine… Canada imports between 68-70% of our final dosage form prescription drug supply and for the remaining 30% that we do manufacture domestically – over 90% of the components come from abroad.”
Tags: economy, globalization, pharmaceutical, standard of living
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Ontario’s healthcare spending lowest in Canada — but going lower
Thursday, November 21st, 2019
These cuts, totalling about $360 million, will affect everything from mental health care to cancer screening, according to Natalie Mehra, head of the Ontario Health Coalition… Their impact will likely be profound, since… Ontario’s health-care spending is only $3,903 per person — the lowest of the ten provinces — and $487 per person lower than the Canadian average…
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, philanthropy, privatization, tax
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Hospital Beds and Long-Term Care Wait Lists
Friday, November 15th, 2019
Under current rules, hospitals may charge patients copayments for their room and board only if they require complex continuing care and are “more or less permanently resident” in hospital or waiting for an LTC bed. But they may not do so if the patient is awaiting discharge to home or community care. This creates a perverse incentive for hospitals to recommend LTC in order to get copayments, leading to longer waiting lists.
Tags: budget, Health, housing, standard of living, tax
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