Liberal health care funding increase falls below 3 per cent

Liberal health care funding increase falls below 3 per cent

Postby Oscar » Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am

Liberal health care funding increase falls below 3 per cent

[ http://canadians.org/blog/liberal-healt ... low-3-cent ]

March 28, 2016 - 9:26 am

What's happening with the Liberal promise for a new Health Accord?

The Liberal platform this past election promised, "We will negotiate a new Health Accord with provinces and territories, including a long-term agreement on funding." Unfortunately, the federal budget last week only stated, "The Government is committed to working in partnership with provinces and territories to negotiate a new multi-year health accord that will improve health care in Canada and boost health outcomes for all Canadians."

In terms of background, the Canadian Press explains, "The last 10-year health accord, which included an annual six-per-cent increase in health transfers to the provinces, expired in 2014. The previous Conservative government refused to renegotiate it and unilaterally declared that the six-per-cent escalator would end in 2017." The Conservative plan was to tie health care transfers to the GDP with a minimum three per cent annual increase between 2017 and 2024.

But now the Globe and Mail reports, "According to the budget, the health transfers will increase by $1-billion, or 2.8 per cent in 2017-18, to $37.1-billion. That is below even the 3-per-cent minimum increase promised by the Harper government. With annual increases henceforth tracking nominal GDP growth, Ottawa will be transferring about $5-billion less a year in health-care cash to the provinces by 2020 than it would have under the 6-per-cent escalator."

The Canadian Press adds, "Although they denounced the Conservative move and promised to negotiate a new accord with a long-term funding agreement, the Liberals did not specifically promise to reinstate the escalator. And [federal health minister Jane] Philpott appeared to suggest [the day after the budget was presented] that it's not in the cards. At $36 billion, health transfers are already 'the largest in Canadian history', she told the Commons." Back in January, during a federal-provincial health care ministers meeting, the Canadian Press had reported, "Philpott has suggested she wants to focus on how to spend money on health care more efficiently."

In November 2015, Council of Canadians health care campaigner Michael Butler wrote the newly appointed health minister and highlighted, "It is our hope that the new federal government reverses the Harper government’s funding model to a per capita Canada Health Transfer model, and implements a 6 per cent escalator for federal transfers to the provinces to reach a minimum goal of 25 per cent federal funding of provincial health care costs." But for now, according to the Globe and Mail, the federal government's share of health care spending is set to fall to about 18 per cent within a decade.

In his post-budget analysis, Butler commented, "In regards to a renegotiated Health Accord, this budget does little to make clear where we are headed. Is this government planning to reflect Canadian’s top priority and invest new money into the public system in the future, or are future budgets going to follow the template of Harper’s budgets with under-funding health services and increasing two-tiered services? It is too early to tell, but we hope the new government follows some of the suggestions the Council of Canadians have made on this topic."

Those demands include:

- a new Canada Health Accord for an adequate period of time (a ten year period or comparable length to the 2004-2014 Accord)
- increased funding at a minimum of a 6 per cent increase per year (as with the previous Accord)
- reaching a minimum 25 per cent federal share of health funding by 2025
- conditional funding to uphold the Canada Health Act and an accountability framework to ensure funding reaches needed areas of the public health system
- funding to support and strengthen the universal access to publicly funded and delivered medicare
- a comprehensive national pharmacare program that is universal and provides first dollar coverage
- pharmacare that covers the full cost of covered drugs without deductibles or co-pays (access must be based on a patient’s need and not their ability)
- public administration for the program ensuring appropriate use of drugs, public education and monitoring
- an evidence-based national formulary drawing on the best clinical and economic facts (all drugs on a national formulary must be covered under the program)
- 'carving out’ health care from harmful international trade deals and a creating mechanism addressing the impacts of negotiated deals.

For more on our health care campaign, please click here:
[ http://canadians.org/healthcare ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
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Re: Liberal health care funding increase falls below 3 per c

Postby Oscar » Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:03 pm

Doctors ask Health Minister Philpott to defend the Act

[ http://www.canadiandoctorsformedicare.c ... Itemid=172 ]

March 31, 2016 | published in The Hill Times

Extra billing in Ontario, private MRIs in Saskatchewan and user fees in Quebec: violations of the Canada Health Act are on the rise across the country. Canadian doctors are concerned about the impact of this trend not only on their patients, but on our public health care system as well.

Health Canada is required to publish a report every year in order to detail how provincial and territorial health care insurance plans have (or have not) satisfied the conditions for payment under the Canada Health Act. Provinces that are not in compliance are to be penalized with a reduced Canada Health Transfer (CHT) payment.

This year’s report showed that in 2014-15, the only province that received such a penalty was British Columbia. Their CHT payment was docked $241,637, about half of the amount in extra billing a 2012 audit found to have been committed by Dr. Brian Day’s Cambie clinic in just one month. It’s notable that British Columbia, the only province docked funds, is also the only province currently seeking to enforce the act by cracking down on Cambie’s activities.

Physicians and clinics have quietly been charging extra fees for health services for many years, yet calls for the federal government to enforce the Act have been ignored. Coming down hard on extra-billing may not sound as exciting as announcing new funding for specialized medical services, but it is the job of the provincial and federal health ministers to protect the Canada Health Act and guarantee equitable access to Canadian health care.

In Ontario alone, the frequency of such charges has grown at an alarming rate and escaped the notice of provincial and federal auditors and health ministers. The Ontario Health Coalition published a report in 2014 listing dozens of instances where independent health facilities (e.g. eye surgery, colonoscopy, diagnostic and executive health clinics) charged extra fees for medical consultations, examinations, diagnostic testing and other manners of “upgraded services.” These fees are for services that are covered by the health system. This is otherwise known as extra billing, a practice that is against federal and provincial law.

Despite these contraventions, previous Canada Health Act reports show that Ontario has never been penalized.

This year’s report has the potential to be more than a quiet committee discussion with no subsequent action. It can be the springboard for Health Minister Jane Philpott to assert her government’s commitment to defending medicare, Canada’s most treasured social program.

Where better to start than reminding Saskatchewan and Quebec’s premiers that their recent actions violate the Canada Health Act?

In November 2015, the Saskatchewan government voted to introduce pay-per-use MRI services, allowing those who are able to pay to jump the queue and receive priority treatment. Premier Brad Wall argued that implementing a parallel diagnostic system would alleviate wait times, ignoring the evidence to the contrary from Alberta’s foray into private MRIs a decade ago. As Wall himself noted in 2009, these clinics violate the principle of accessibility in the act. By speaking out, Minister Philpott can help to stem the tide of privatization in Saskatchewan’s health care system.

That same month, the Quebec National Assembly approved Bill 20. This omnibus bill enables physicians to charge extra fees to their patients for services already insured under public medicare, with no clearly established limits. The fact is many physicians in the province had been charging extra fees to patients for a long time. The government included provisions for extra billing as an amendment in response to pressure from the Quebec College of Physicians. Instead of coming down against extra-billing as was hoped, Minister Gaétan Barrette worked to normalize the practice instead.

Breaches of the act have never been addressed in Quebec, despite the admission of physicians instituting user fees and extra billing and calls to stop this practice from Quebec organizations such as Médecins Québécois pour le Régime Public and Fédération des Médecins Omnipraticiens du Québec.

User fees, access charges, extra billing all come down to the same thing—inequitable access to Canadian health care.

Charging patients at the point of care for medically necessary services strikes at the heart of the principle that access to health care should be based on need rather than ability to pay. It undermines equity, increases system costs and reduces public commitment to universal coverage.

The Trudeau government promised real change. As an acclaimed physician, Minister Philpott has an opportunity to take a new approach to defending Canadian health care by sending a strong statement to the provinces that they must adhere to the Canada Health Act.

It is time for Minister Philpott to show there is a doctor in the House and take action to ensure medicare will be there for all Canadians in their time of need.

Ryan Meili, Vice-Chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare

For more information, please contact:

Mary-Margaret at jones@canadiandoctorsformedicare.ca or 416-351-3300
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Re: Liberal health care funding increase falls below 3 per c

Postby Oscar » Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:55 pm

Better Health is Possible for Canada

[ http://www.demandaplan.ca/better_health ... ssociation ]

June 08, 2016

World-renowned author and surgeon, Dr. Atul Gawande has eloquent and informed advice that we here in Canada must heed to renew our health care system: “Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.”

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) – backed by our over 83,000 physician members and our 35,000 Demand a Plan public supporters – agrees and now is the time to act.

Seniors today account for 16% of Canada’s population. By 2036 that figure will be up to 25%. Our system was created over half a century ago to meet the needs of a much younger population and we have not adapted to meet the growing and evolving needs of aging Canadians. Make no mistake; our system cannot continue to lurch along, struggling – and all too often failing – to provide high-quality care where and when patients with complex and chronic conditions need it.

Fortunately, the federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to a new multi-year Health Accord focused on improving access to home care and mental health services; supporting pan-Canadian innovation in the delivery of health services and making prescription medications more affordable and accessible. The CMA views a new Health Accord as a key opportunity to address critical gaps in seniors care, which builds on our work from last fall in advocating for a national seniors strategy through the Demand A Plan campaign. The CMA believes that public dialogue on a new health accord provides a critical opportunity to set a vision and direction to address the collective challenges that face all health care systems in Canada. We must remember that each and every jurisdiction —provincial, territorial and federal – has its own unique challenges and responsibilities when it comes to ensuring our health care system meets the needs of Canadians.

So how do governments meet this challenge? How do we ensure that our next Health Accord does not just buy time, but builds a truly revitalized and robust system able to meet our nation’s present and future needs?

In short, it begins with the right vision and will.

The CMA is advancing a new vision for Canadian health care, one that is based on the internationally-renowned Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) Triple Aim Framework to optimize health system performance. This vision will focus on three clear outcomes:

• Improve the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction)

• Improve the health of populations

• Achieve better value for money invested in health care

Guiding this vision is the belief that every Canadian deserves a health system that provides quality services in a timely, safe, effective, evidence-informed way that respects individual choice. Systems of services must be integrated so that health promotion and protection, disease prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment, and end-of-life care work in concert across home, community and hospital settings. Every Canadian must have access to a family physician and affordable and comprehensive prescription drug coverage.

The CMA vision is inclusive. It is founded on collaborative work with other health and non-health organizations and aligned to the principles to guide the transformation of health care in Canada. This vision will help ensure that the health system enables physicians, nurses and other health care professionals to provide the highest-quality, team-based care to their patients, guided by peer-led review and fully incorporating patients in decisions.

The commitment of Canada’s health care professionals must now be matched by our elected leaders. If we are to truly improve the health of our citizens, all levels of government in Canada must work together to improve the underlying social and economic determinants of health of all Canadians. As discussions begin in earnest on a new health accord, the time to act is now. As a first priority, renewal of the health care system must focus on more at-risk patient populations: Indigenous populations; those living in remote areas; in poverty; inner city populations; those with addictions and mental health problems; the elderly; and patients managing multiple conditions.

During the election campaign last year, Justin Trudeau galvanized Canadians and exhorted us all to believe that “Better is possible”. We do believe that. All that remains is to muster the will to get the job done.

Dr. Cindy Forbes, President
Canadian Medical Association
***CMA Op- Ed (published in The Hill Times 30 May)***
- - - -


From: Canadian Medical Association
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 11:14 AM
Subject: Better Health is Possible for Canada

GET INVOLVED: YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

To ensure that seniors care is a priority in the new Health Accord, we urge Canadians to become leaders in carrying the message forward. You can contribute to putting seniors care at the forefront of the government’s agenda. Review CMA’s Advocacy Toolkit for more information.
[ http://www.demandaplan.ca/advocacy_tool ... ssociation ]

Canadian Medical Association
[ http://www.demandaplan.ca/ ]
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