Our health-care budgets were already greatly strained before the COVID-19 crisis; they’re completely blown out now
Two of the major issues arising from the current medical emergency and lockdown are how much it would cost to prepare for a similar crisis and how Canadians would pay for it (as well as pay for the one we’re enduring). The N95 particulate mask is deemed necessary to ensure that neither the wearer nor…
The health-care system in theory exists for the benefit of Albertans. We pay the bills, yet we’re not at the table
By Charlie Fischer and Judy Birdsell IMAGINE Citizens Collaborating for Health It’s positive that the government of Alberta and physicians have created a working group to find a way to reach common ground in the current dispute over the doctors’ cancelled contract. Yet, IMAGINE Citizens Collaborating for Health, a citizen-led organization that aspires to support Albertans…
Idyllic descriptions of medicare do not fairly represent the challenging realities that are the day-to-day experiences of many Canadians
As the title suggests, The American Prospect article What Medicare for All Really Looks Like claims to describe the realities of Canadian medicare to our southern neighbours. So, it is both ironic – and disappointing – that a careful reading reveals it to be remarkable only in its unwillingness to examine these realities in any meaningful…
Delta Hospice Society has been locked in a lengthy fight with the health authority and the B.C. government, and has now lost its funding
Directors of a Vancouver-area hospice are considering their legal options after the B.C. government abruptly yanked its funding because it doesn’t permit medical assistance in dying (MAID) on the premises. And an Ottawa lawyer engaged by the Delta Hospice Society says B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix is simply wrong to claim the facility’s refusal to…
Increased spending has entrenched an inefficient system that has inflated the cost of getting the same outcomes. It’s time for change
Canada has doubled health care spending since 2005 – and what did we get? We certainly haven't improved access to care, nor improved health outcomes. Increased spending has, instead, entrenched an inefficiently organized system that has inflated the cost of getting, at best, the same access and outcomes. The alternative to spending to meet rising…
The amount we pay for health care through the tax system depends on family income and size
By Milagros Palacios and Bacchus Barua The Fraser Institute The fall federal election showed that politicians across the spectrum are happy to promise to spend more on our government-run health-care system. Whether the spending is for long-term care or pharmacare, the political solution to any health-care problem seems to be to pump more money into…
Instead of asking for more money and all the strings that come attached, the provinces should ask for more freedom to try new delivery models
By Bacchus Barua and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute Despite their differences, it seems Canada’s premiers are united in one thing: demanding more federal health-care dollars. But nobody talked about the price the premiers must pay for the money from Ottawa: the freedom to design and implement policies that could actually improve care. At the…
A recent report compares care across eight developed countries, including Canada. The results are edifying
The Manhattan Institute – an American free-market think-tank – recently published a comparison of health care across eight developed countries. Looking at Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States, the analysis provides food for thought. Here are my takeaways. Role of government Governments in all eight countries are…
At its core, the problem is related to lack of funding. It's time for Ottawa to provide the necessary funds or launch full-scale medicare reform
Most Canadians think our health-care system is a national treasure and much superior to the American system, where poor people often don’t get the treatments they need and costs can be catastrophic. Instead of focusing on how Canada’s health-care system compares to America’s, we should be looking at European systems that offer better health outcomes…
So why aren’t we making use of this important human resource?
By Linda Silas Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and Ivy Lynn Bourgeault University of Ottawa You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of nurse practitioners. Most Canadians haven’t – and most don’t know their value to our health-care system. You may be even more surprised to learn that nurse practitioners could be the innovative…