Hamilton awaits the fate of its public health unit after budget seems to promise mergers | CBC News
In Thursday’s budget, Premier Doug Ford’s government said it would cut the number of local health units by 25 over two years. That comes alongside an annual funding reduction of $200 million.
How Billionaires and Big Pharma Battled Canada’s National Drug Plan | The Tyee
Why? Sharon Batt, an adjunct professor at Dalhousie University, looked at the reasons in a report for the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
Batt found powerful players — including insurance and drug companies — profit from the current system. And that they had unleashed a major, expensive lobbying, PR and public campaign to fight a national pharmacare program.
Though seemingly diverse, virtually all the opposition to pharmacare can be traced back to a network of well-funded interests exerting their influence largely in secret. This Big Money Club — made up of pharmaceutical companies, the health insurance industry, and both Canadian and foreign free-market billionaires — are the only players who stand to lose from pharmacare. For the rest of Canadians, pharmacare would be a substantial gain.
With deep pockets and considerable resources, the Big Money Club is employing an expansive strategy to stop the delivery of pharmacare to Canadians.
Cost Estimate of an Increase in the Duration of Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits
This report estimates the additional cost to be approximately $1.10 billion in 2020. By 2025, this cost is expected to grow to an additional $1.30 billion per year. Increases in the cost of the program translate to an increase in the premium rate paid by employees and employers in Canada. Therefore, the increase in the duration of benefits is expected to raise the employee premium rate by a total of 6-cents from the baseline rate of $1.62 per $100 of insurable earnings. #abpoli #ableg #health
Quality Prescription Drug Coverage for Everyone in Canada
“People throughout the country are making impossible choices when it comes to affording the prescription drugs they need like choosing between paying for rent and filling a prescription,” said Singh. “Instead of bringing immediate help for people, Justin Trudeau is floating a U.S.-style system based on private insurance that will just deepen inequality. Under our plan, you’ll just need your health card – not your credit card – at the pharmacy checkout.” #cdnpoli
When a mother took her son to a doctor’s appointment recently, she noticed a message in the waiting room. “For your safety and ours, please limit the discussion with your provider to one issue per visit.” Her tweet about it, sparked a debate about a longstanding issue in the health-care system.
from CBC | Prince Edward Island News https://ift.tt/2FpW47Q
Indeed, the “one issue per visit” issue has been around for a long time and is widely regarded as a symptom of the fee-for-service
system — where physicians bill the government per appointment rather
than draw a salary. It’s the way more than 70 per cent of Canadian
doctors are paid. A family doctor is generally paid between $30 to $40
per patient for a regular visit.