Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
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Improving OHIP+ for lower- and modest-income Ontarians
Wednesday, January 30th, 2019
The Ontario government’s proposed changes to OHIP+ indicate that families with private prescription drug coverage will be required to pay out-of-pocket for any costs not covered by their plans. This will have a burdensome impact on working families with low incomes.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, pharmaceutical, standard of living
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Pharmacare and Politics
Friday, January 25th, 2019
Rather than going for an expensive single-payer model, we think Ottawa would be far better off with a “gap-filling” model. Under that approach, each province and territory would create a public pharmacare plan that would automatically cover anyone who wasn’t already covered by an existing public plan, or by a government-approved private plan. As an inducement, the federal government could offer a modest enhancement of the Canada Health Transfer, or offer to pay part of the incremental cost that each province would incur by offering such a plan.
Tags: budget, economy, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical
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Hallway Medicine and Value-based Funding
Friday, January 25th, 2019
Fundamentally, the payment system is too complex and incoherent. This often creates perverse incentives and makes it difficult for policymakers to achieve desired outcomes… Value-based funding pays healthcare providers for outcomes, not for each siloed service individually… Competition based on value for money will allow the Ontario health system to do more with less.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology
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The new Canada’s Food Guide explained: Goodbye four food groups and serving sizes, hello hydration
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019
The new guide is distilled into one strikingly simple image: a plate of food filled with roughly half fruits and vegetables, and the remaining half divided into whole grains and proteins. The image is meant to convey a simple message, according to Health Canada: Eat a diet made up of roughly half fruits and vegetables, and half of the remaining two categories… the new version also includes specific warnings about what not to eat – namely, processed and prepared foods that are high in sodium, free sugars and saturated fats.
Tags: Health, standard of living
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Let’s make 2019 the year Canada finally gets pharmacare (2)
Saturday, January 12th, 2019
Canada’s dysfunctional non-system of non-universal drug insurance goes into the ring with one big advantage: It’s the status quo. It exists, through hundreds of government programs and thousands of workplace arrangements and collective agreements. Canadians will have to be persuaded that reform will improve their existing coverage, or at least leave it unchanged.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
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Fate of Ontario Drug Benefit could define federal election
Friday, January 11th, 2019
Premier Doug Ford is… likely to gut the Ontario Drug Benefit seniors’ program. How the federal Liberals and NDP respond to this challenge will define their parties’ visions for the country and determine the election results… Ford inherited a $6-plus billion deficit and he’s blown that up with tax reductions and lost law suits… Cutting the ODB seniors’ program and implementing a Quebec or Manitoba-style plan could save $2 billion in one fell swoop.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
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The secret moves to increase private health care
Thursday, January 10th, 2019
Secretly… a major multi-faceted campaign is underway inside and outside the premier’s office to develop a two-tier system of health care in Ontario, complete with specialized private clinics and the ability of some doctors to charge more than standard rates for medical procedures they perform outside of a public hospital or health centre… Insurance firms are excited about the possibility of increased private health care. They see huge profits in offering corporations private insurance programs for employees who visit private clinics…
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, privatization
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What many Canadians don’t know about the Canada Health Act
Wednesday, January 9th, 2019
Public funding is still focused on hospital-based approaches to treating disabilities and chronic conditions, instead of home-care methods, which are much more cost-effective… Prescription drugs provided outside hospital settings are also not covered by the Canada Health Act and require out-of-pocket spending. In 2017, approximately 700,000 Canadians had no prescription drug coverage, while an estimated 3.6 million had inadequate coverage to afford necessary medications.
Tags: featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical
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Let’s make 2019 the year Canada finally gets pharmacare
Wednesday, January 9th, 2019
If you’re hospitalized and you’re given prescription meds, it’s free. But once you walk out of the hospital with a prescription to fill, you may be on your own. Coverage is a mix of private insurance and out-of-pocket spending, with the provinces and territories filling some of the gaps with a grab bag of local programs, each unique to its jurisdiction, for groups such as seniors and the poor… Government programs are limited and selective, creating a safety net that’s filled with holes.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical, standard of living
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It is time to implement a universal dental plan
Monday, January 7th, 2019
A universal dental plan would require more government spending, but it would eliminate the out-of-pocket spending and monthly payments to the private health insurance companies for basic dental care. Targeted programs are more susceptible to cuts in funding since there are less likely to be repercussions in the form of public outrage as the cuts would only affect a relatively small, marginalized group.
Tags: economy, Health, ideology, poverty, standard of living
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