Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

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To fix Canada’s health care, a hard economic truth must be acknowledged 

Tuesday, August 29th, 2023

… a) when public health care was first rolled out, there were limited complex interventions available; b) what could be done was relatively inexpensive; and c) given shorter lifespans, there was simply less time for a patient to require the higher-cost care commensurate with advanced age. In that context, funding health care out of general tax revenues has become increasingly hard – and will eventually be unsustainable.

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The answer is clear: we can’t afford privatized health care

Thursday, August 24th, 2023

… lots of other countries have a blended system. In fact, so does Canada. But when we look deeper, we see that we spend less on our public health system — and more out-of-pocket and privately than most of our peers. As a share of all health spending, Canada allocates 75 per cent as public investment. How does that compare? Canada is a standout Scrooge.

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What would you rather have: Too many doctors, or too few?

Friday, August 18th, 2023

There’s more than just supply and demand…  There is no perfect system. There is no getting around the need for incentives and management to discourage abuses and encourage good service…  To save medicare, we must get the incentives right.

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What stands between you and your health information 

Friday, August 18th, 2023

… individual providers are proprietary about their patient data. Confidentiality is crucial. Different providers have different guidelines for accessing records, to both other providers and to patients. Legal ramifications are top of mind and the risk of inappropriate access to patient records is a nightmare that providers do not want to face. Finally, there is the issue of funding…

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CHC chair calls for progress on pharmacare implementation

Thursday, August 17th, 2023

We are calling on the new minister to implement public universal pharmacare. Don’t be fooled by the blandishments and manipulations of the pharmaceutical industry, which obviously opposes public universal pharmacare… We also hope he won’t be too impressed by caucus colleagues who are trying to placate the ferocious and well-financed pharma lobby on the Hill.

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Health Coalition wants $3.5 Billion in Budget for Pharmacare

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023

If accepted, the government would fulfill a key recommendation of the 2019 Final Report of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, led by Dr. Eric Hoskins, which estimated that it will cost an additional $3.5 billion to launch national pharmacare starting with universal coverage for essential medicines. Here are the coalition’s four recommendations…

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Canada has in fact achieved universal drug insurance coverage

Saturday, August 12th, 2023

People in the lowest income deciles are eligible for public safety-net coverage at zero or very low costs. People in the highest income deciles are covered when prescription drug costs exceed 3 per cent to 7 per cent of family income, depending on the jurisdiction. Typically, private drug plans use deductibles and copayments and end up insuring about 80 per cent of prescription costs.

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Canadians deserve better than fake Pharmacare

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023

A single-payer system can use its bargaining power to negotiate better prices and reduce costs… A fill-the-gaps approach is a short-sighted Band-Aid on a system that is bleeding out. It may appear to have lower upfront costs by only covering those who are uninsured, but it is less efficient when factoring in the administrative costs of verifying eligibility… A single-payer approach to Pharmacare is fair for all.

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97 per cent of Canadians have drug coverage and other lies drug manufactures are pushing

Monday, July 31st, 2023

In reality, millions of Canadians are uninsured for the medicines they need… Those lucky enough to have coverage often still face sizable deductibles and copayments… one in 10 Canadians skips prescriptions because of out-of-pocket costs. This makes patients sicker and generates at least $1 billion annually in preventable demand for medical and hospital care…  it is high-cost medicines that are putting workplace health benefits at risk.

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Ontario’s solution to the health care crisis is to hire nurses through agencies — and the cost has now quadrupled

Thursday, July 27th, 2023

What was bad last year is worse this year. That’s because there’s still no plan to tackle the root causes of burnout and turnover. Hospitals are still so short-staffed, nurses are simply thrown at the labour crisis of the day, some not even able to take pre-scheduled vacations, know when or how long they are going to work on any given day, or what kind of work they will be asked to do. Shift the lens to child care, long-term care and other forms of health care, and the same story emerges.

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