Archive for the ‘Health Policy Context’ Category
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Medicare should be strengthened, not torn down
If patients who can afford private insurance are allowed to buy themselves out of the public system, it will create the two-tier structure that Canadian medicare advocates have been fighting to head off for decades… It’s fundamental to medicare that all should be treated equitably. If you’re moved ahead in the queue it should be because your condition requires it. Not because you can fatten the pocketbooks of health care providers.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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Six things you need to know about the greatest threat to medicare in a generation
Anyone who tells you this is about “choice” is missing the point. We already have the option in Canada for doctors to opt out of the public system and charge what they want in boutique clinics. What Dr. Profit wants to do is enrich himself further, by charging unlimited amounts for services and then turn around and charge government and tax payers for this… Evidence from around the world shows private clinics erode public health care and increase wait times.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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Private vs. public: B.C. case could reshape medicare
… the case will… expose many of the absurdities and contradictions in the way we fund and regulate health care… The reality is that Canada already has a hybrid system, with 70 per cent of care publicly funded and 30 per cent privately funded. What makes this country unique, however, is it is the only one that bans private insurance for hospital and physician care but, at the same time, makes most patients depend on private insurance for prescription drugs, dental care and long-term care.
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, privatization, rights, standard of living, tax
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Help the aged through a new health accord
It’s vital for Ottawa to oversee the evolution of medicare. That’s the best way to set shared national priorities and establish universal standards suited to Canadians’ 21st-century needs… Health transfers are currently issued on a per-capita basis, failing to take into account far heavier costs associated with caring for the aged… “there are large discrepancies across the country when it comes to the health care services available to seniors, particularly in pharmacare, home care, long-term care and palliative care,”
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living, tax
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Answer to soaring health-care costs lies in changing the system itself
… while capital spending has been sharply curtailed, physicians’ fees have not. This is not sustainable… The key to reform is… giving groups of doctors a fixed amount per patient, with which to purchase services from hospitals, clinics and other providers, that is on a per-treatment basis. Paying doctors a lump sum localizes the budget constraint, forcing doctors to take account of costs in decisions on treatment; paying hospitals per service makes it possible for lower-cost competitors to undercut them.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology
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Health-care poverty not good for Canada
If we can send them medicine, healthcare and other supports when they in Darfur, Malawi or Bangladesh, why can’t we do that when they are here? … Many thousands of “legacy” new Canadians reside and often work here in dirty, dangerous jobs while still denied access to health coverage… Provincial three-month waits for health coverage affect 80 per cent of Canada’s new immigrants… Unaddressed health literacy barriers linger for years. This made in Canada “health-care poverty” is good for no one
Tags: budget, disabilities, featured, globalization, Health, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Our great health-care spendfests
The Howe report warns against yielding to the provinces’ demands. “There is evidence to suggest that provinces find it easier to spend federal money than to spend the revenues they raise on their own”… Provincial leaders need to answer to their voters when they increase taxes, fees or levies due to their inability to control their spending urges, but face no such pressure if they can wheedle the money out of the federal treasury rather than their own.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, tax
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We need health care and innovation, tied together by sustainable finances
… we can expect another call by the premiers for Ottawa to increase its share of provincial and territorial health care spending to 25 per cent. The federal cash share currently stands at about 22 per cent, down from 33 per cent in 1984, when the Canada Health Act was passed. Federal spending in this sector is projected to fall steadily over the long term given the current program structure and weaker growth rate formula… it is difficult to imagine the preservation of the principles of the Canada Health Act without more federal skin in the game.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health
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Toronto board of health approves supervised injection sites
The stories of Toronto residents who died of overdoses on Toronto streets were heard for hours by board of health members, told by their friends, family and support workers at an emotional meeting that saw an overwhelming push for what advocates say would be a life-saving measure. The board unanimously agreed, signalling a new approach to harm reduction as a public health problem — one that has yet to be implemented in Ontario.
Tags: crime prevention, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
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Health-care talks: The cat-and-mouse game begins
Ottawa says tell us where you need the money; the provinces reply they can’t until Ottawa indicates how much it is prepared to spend. In the Liberals’ election platform, they pledged $3-billion for home care. But will provinces accept these kinds of strings around federal cash? Quebec will certainly not, and probably not Alberta… six provinces want Ottawa to adjust federal transfers for the aging demographics of their populations.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, standard of living
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