budget « Social Policy in Ontario

Posts Tagged ‘budget’

The Trudeau government’s weak start on pharmacare

Saturday, March 9th, 2019

… its report contains no plan for pharmacare at all. It talks only about creating “building blocks” that could someday, maybe, contribute to a plan… It warns that “without reform, the system will soon be at the breaking point.” But neither the Trudeau government nor its advisory council has yet been willing to follow through to the obvious answer: universal national pharmacare.

Tags: budget, economy, featured, Health, ideology, mental Health, participation, pharmaceutical, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »

Parents rally against Ford government’s autism changes

Friday, March 8th, 2019

the government is boosting spending to clear a wait list of 23,000 children and giving families limited budgets to choose the services they want. Depending on their income, parents will be eligible for up to $20,000 a year for children under 6, with a lifetime maximum of $140,000. Children older than that can access up to $5,000 a year up to age 18, to a lifetime maximum of $55,000. Critics have said those amounts fall far short, as children with severe needs can require up to $80,000 a year in therapy.

Tags: budget, ideology, mental Health, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »

Pharmacare panel offers no prescription for how the new program would work

Friday, March 8th, 2019

The interim report called for a new, arm’s-length drug agency to oversee the health-technology assessments (HTA) that evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of new medicines; spearhead negotiations with pharmaceutical companies; and manage a “comprehensive, evidence-based national formulary,” which is a list of drugs covered for everyone.

Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »

Children’s agency slams Ford government’s autism funding changes

Wednesday, March 6th, 2019

Kinark is the only regional service provider — so far — to publicly oppose the changes announced by Lisa MacLeod, minister of children, community and social services last month… Under the overhaul, provincial funding will no longer be administered by nine regional service providers and instead flow directly to families who will use the money to buy therapy from private therapists or publicly funded agencies… A new independent agency to be established in the next year will administer “childhood budgets” to families based on household income and a child’s age.

Tags: budget, disabilities, mental Health, participation, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »

Introduction of Bill 74: The People’s Health Care Act, 2019

Tuesday, March 5th, 2019

If passed, the legislation would create a central agency to oversee Ontario’s healthcare system intended to, among other things, remove duplication… The Bill introduces the term “integrated care delivery systems” meaning a person or entity or group of persons or entities designated under the CCA that deliver three or more prescribed health care services.

Tags: budget, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »

Basic income project improved lives, but ‘now it’s back to the food bank’

Monday, March 4th, 2019

Participants reported less stress and depression, fewer health problems and a greater ability to work, buy healthy food, upgrade their education and secure stable housing… Participants receive their last payment at the end of March — barely 18 months after most began receiving the extra money — and before the government was able to do any followup studies. The project’s goal was to determine whether regular, unconditional payments improve housing, health, education, employment and social outcomes for people living on social assistance or low-wage jobs in an efficient and non-stigmatizing way.

Tags: budget, featured, Health, housing, ideology, mental Health, participation, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Social Security Debates | No Comments »

A glimpse into the future of health care in Ontario

Sunday, March 3rd, 2019

St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, specifically at its Integrated Comprehensive Care (ICC) program… started as a pilot back in 2012. Known then as the “bundled care” program, it was designed to connect surgical patients with a single team of clinicians who could care for them before, during and after their operations… It has resulted in a savings of up to $4,000 per patient, a 30 per cent reduction in emergency department visits and 30 per cent reduction in hospital readmissions, a savings of more than 30,000 bed days and an increase in patient satisfaction, according to the hospital.

Tags: budget, Health, mental Health, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »

Property taxes are the obvious solution to Toronto’s revenue crisis

Saturday, March 2nd, 2019

John Tory… is kicking the can down the road by deferring maintenance and raiding reserves. The favourite answer of local politicians is Ottawa and Queen’s Park. But those governments can — and do — point to the fact that we refuse to collect taxes at a rate anywhere near that of our neighbours. Why would they fund us if we won’t fund ourselves?

Tags: budget, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »

In a shift on Canadian campuses driven by Trump policies, Indian students now outnumber Chinese

Saturday, March 2nd, 2019

Last year 172,000 students with Indian citizenship held a study permit for Canada, vaulting past the 142,000 from China… drawn partly by the low value of the loonie relative to the U.S. dollar. But more importantly they come for the simpler path to work permits and immigration credentials… It’s a lucrative popularity for Canadian universities. At the University of Toronto, for instance, domestic arts and science students paid $6,780 in tuition fees for the current school year, while international students paid $49,800 – a seven-fold difference.

Tags: budget, economy, immigration, multiculturalism
Posted in Education Debates | No Comments »

The Liberal government shouldn’t go soft on pharmacare

Friday, March 1st, 2019

The benefits of a robust national pharmacare plan are substantial, both in improving health outcomes for millions of Canadians and reducing overall costs. The farther off that ideal the government goes, the fewer of those benefits we’ll see… Maintaining this inadequate patchwork costs everyone — governments, individuals and businesses — far more than it should. That’s not good for anyone, including those who enjoy good coverage now. As the Commons health committee put it: “In short, it will save money and lives.”