The
Medicare Funding Debate |  Le
débat sur le financement |
From the CBC:
Task
force urges more private health care in Quebec
February 19, 2008
A
provincial task force is recommending health-care user fees and greater privatization
to guarantee the viability of medical care in Quebec.The task force, headed by
former Liberal cabinet minister Claude Castonguay, calls for a shakeup of principles
guiding medical care in Quebec to control spiralling costs.
Quebec
report raises union private health-care fears
February 18, 2008
Quebec's
largest labour federation is worried an impending report on health-care financing
will clear the way for two-tiered care, allowing private services at the expense
of the public system.
TIP: this page contains links to three more articles,
under "Related".
More media coverage of the Castonguay report (from Google.ca)
From the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE):
Shelve
Castonguay, support medicare
February 20, 2008
A Québec
government-sponsored report calling for radical privatization of the health care
system came out this week just as the federal government proved once again that
they're not willing to enforce their own laws on public health care. The Castonguay
report's recommendations read like a laundry list for privatized health care.
Related links:
* Castonguay
Report and recommendations
* Tabling
of the Report Getting Our Money’s Worth (PDF file - 120K, 4 pages)
News Release - February 19, 2008
Source:
Task
Force on the Funding of the Health Care System (QC Government)
-------------------------------------------------------
From Finance Canada - Updated to January 2009 NOTE: This is a key resource for anyone who wants to know about federal transfers to provinces and territories for health, post-secondary education, social assistance (welfare) and social services (including early childhood development). Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories is a permanent - and helpful (thanks, Finance Canada folks!) feature of the Department's website; it was most recently updated in January 2009. Federal
Transfers to Provinces and Territories Major
Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories Canada
Health Transfer Canada
Social Transfer Territorial Formula FinancingTax Transfers --- Brief
History of the Health and Social Transfers Federal
Support for Children (and investments over time) Related link: A
Study of Federal Transfers to the Provinces and Territories -
Go to the Canada Assistance Plan / Canada Health and Social Transfer / Canada
Social Transfer Resources page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/cap.htm |
Medicare crisis in Australia?
The
coming crisis of Medicare: What the Intergenerational Reports should say, but
don’t, about health and ageing
By Jeremy Sammut
The
Centre for Independent Studies
Posted 09-11-2007
This report outlines
the combined impact of demographic trends toward ageing and the increasing costs
of new high-tech medical technology on healthcare supply and demand in the future.
As well as the implications for intergenerational conflict as the baby boomers
begin to expect Generations X and Y to bare the tax burden for their care.
------------------------------------------------------
How
Sustainable is Medicare?
A Closer Look at Aging, Technology and
Other Cost Drivers in Canada’s Health Care System
September 13, 2007
Source:
Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives
------------------------------------------------------
From the Canadian Health Coalition:
S.O.S.
Medicare 2: Looking Forward
Building on Tommy Douglas’ Vision of Medicare
Conference
Regina, Saskatchewan
May 3-4, 2007
Official Conference Program (PDF file - 8MB)
Watch
the conference online:
- Session #1: Tommy Douglas’ Vision and
the Future of Medicare
- Session #2: International perspective
- Session
#3: Financing to Achieve Greater Equity
- Session #4: Health Care Reforms:
Pharmacare, Home Care & Primary Care
- Session #5: Social Determinants
of Health
- Stephen Lewis Luncheon Speech
- Session #6: Getting There From
Here
Related links:
Completing
Tommy’s Vision: Next Steps
to Expand and Improve Canada’s Medicare
System (PDF file - 45K, 2 pages)
Post Conference Statement
May
4, 2007
Health
care storm clouds on horizon: Experts (PDF file - 61K, 3 pages)
Conference
Media Release
May 3, 2007
MEDIA COVERAGE
Assault
on Medicare
Regina Leader-Post (May 19, 2007)
Save
Medicare Conference Held
Health Edition (May 11, 2007)
Media
Coverage
Regina Leader-Post (May 3-5, 2007)
CBC
Saskatchewan Television News (AUDIO FORMAT)
CBC Saskatchewan (May 3,
2007)
1979
Audio clip of Tommy Douglas (AUDIO FORMAT) welcoming delegates to S.O.S.
Medicare.
This five-minute speech was replayed to kick-off S.O.S. Medicare
2: Looking Forward.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paying
More, Getting Less 2006:
Measuring the Sustainability of Public Health Insurance
in Canada (PDF file - 645K, 36 pages)
October 2006
"The
analysis in this study show that, if provincial governments continue to pursue
policies that lead to the same rates of growth in health spending and revenue
that have been observed in the recent past, public health-care expenditures will
soon exceed the capacity of governments to pay for them."
News
Release (October 2/06)
Source:
Fraser
Institute
[What's
the Fraser Institute? - from Wikipedia]
Related Links:
From the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE):
How
rising drug costs swallowed my health care*
October 6, 2006
"The
Fraser Institute’s third annual report on the financial sustainability of
provincial health insurance just found, to no-one’s surprise, that “health
care financing, as it is currently structured in Canada, is not financially sustainable”
and that reform is needed to increase privatization of the system. But their approach
is highly faulty. It extrapolates 60 years ahead based on the recent averages
and it doesn’t confront the fastest growing component of health care: the
rising costs of drugs. The study simply took the most recent five-year annual
average for provincial health care spending for each province and projected that
rate of growth 60 years into the future. It then measured “sustainability”
by comparing this to similar projections for provincial revenues and GDP. They
claim that health care spending is on track to bankrupt all provinces within 60
years."
...and here's my favourite part, from the "bio notes"
at the bottom of the article [Gilles]
"Toby Sanger is an economist
with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (...) If he continues to gain weight
at the same rate that he has over the past month, he will weigh approximately
132,735 pounds when he is 64 years old – and will weigh more than the Empire
State Building if he lives to 91."
PDF
version of this article (198K, 3 pages)
*NOTE: the PDF version includes
a graph showing "escalating provincial spending on drugs"which doesn't
appear in the HTML online version unless you click on the mysterious
wavy lines beside the title of the article.
From
the Canadian Health Coalition:
["The
Canadian Health Coalition is a public advocacy organization dedicated to the preservation
and improvement of Medicare. Our membership is comprised of national organizations
representing nurses, health care workers, seniors, churches, anti-poverty, women
and trade unions as well as affiliated coalitions in 9 provinces and one territory."]
National
Pharmaceutical Strategy:
Where’s the Federal Government?
Press
Release
September 21, 2006
(Ottawa) - The Canadian Health Coalition today
welcomed the Progress Report on the National Pharmaceutical Strategy (NPS). The
Strategy to improve pharmaceutical management will lead to more equitable access,
better health outcomes and better value for money spent on drug therapy.
Progress
Report on the National Pharmaceutical Strategy
June 2006
* English
version (PDF file - 1.3MB, 48 pages)
* Version
française (PDF file - 1.4MB, 57 pages)
More
for Less:
A National Pharmacare Strategy (PDF file - 185K, 28 pages)
February
2006 (Updated May 26, 2006)
"The Canadian Health Coalition renewed its
call today for a national Pharmacare plan to:
- Replace
our patchwork U.S.- style drug insurance plans that drive up spending and leave
millions without access
- Provide universal, first-dollar coverage for cost-effective
and safe drugs
- Pay only for what’s safe and works – save lives,
money and competitiveness."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health
Council of Canada
"Created in December 2003, as a result of the
2003 First Ministers' Health Accord, and following the recommendations of the
Romanow and Kirby Reports, the Health Council of Canada is mandated to monitor
and report on the progress of health care renewal in Canada."
Health
Council of Canada report calls for early, ongoing action
to tackle trouble
spots in kids’ health (PDF file 67K, 2
pages)
News Release
WINNIPEG, JUNE 22, 2006 – While the health of Canada’s
children and youth is generally good, especially by global standards, there are
serious trouble spots within this population that require strategic, immediate
and sustained attention, the Health Council of Canada said in a report released
today. The report, Their Future Is Now: Healthy Choices for Canada’s Children
& Youth, says many of those
problems are in fact preventable –
if we act now. The report looks broadly across child health issues, from immunization
and obesity risks to mental health and crime prevention, reviews government commitments
to improve child health, highlights effective regional programs and the ingredients
key to their success, and offers advice for future action.
Backgrounder (PDF file - 51K, 1 page)
Complete report:
Their
Future Is Now: Healthy Choices
for Canada’s Children and Youth
(2.5MB, 52 pages)
June 2006
Toronto
Star op-ed:
Help children do their best
June 21
Dr. Nuala
Kenny, chair of the Health Council of Canada’s working group which created
Their Future Is Now: Healthy Choices for Canada’s Children & Youth,
penned this op-ed piece for the Toronto Star.
Minister
Dosanjh welcomes Health Council's report on making health care system more accountable
to Canadians
January 27, 2005
News Release
"DAVOS, Switzerland
- Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh today welcomed the release of the Health
Council of Canada's first annual report on the country's health system."
Source:
Health
Canada
Complete report:
Healthcare
Renewal in Canada: Accelerating Change
January 2005
"This
first report [of the Health Council of Canada] covers activity across Canada launched
or being planned from the 2003 Accord. Priority areas are the health of Canadians,
primary health care, drugs, home care, health human resources, and infrastructure
to support renewal."
-click through the report using the links in the
left margin of the page
Be sure to check out the
References section of the report (the link below) for a bibliography of documents
and a large collection of links to online resources:
References
(PDF file- 67K, 27 pages)
- list of reports, articles, websites and information
about selected health care initiatives used to generate Health Care Renewal in
Canada.
Source:
Health
Council of Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Recommitting
to the Miracle of Canada” (PDF file -
40K 14 pages)
Time to unleash Canada's "miracle potential", says
Roy Romanow
Hon. Roy J. Romanow, P.C., O.C., Q.C.
On the Occasion of the
20th Anniversary of the
Council of Canadians
Ottawa, ON
November 4,
2005
"It's time to dream big about how we will shape the future of
Canada, said Roy Romanow in a speech marking the 20th anniversary of the Council
of Canadians. 'Canada is a nation with miracle potential. It is a nation that
needs to be put back on track. We must get back to that Canadian balance between
the individual and community, between nation and enterprise,' said Romanow. A
sense of a shared destiny has nurtured Canada's legacy of fairness for its people,
diversity, civility, respect, and the pursuit of peace. But today this legacy
seems in jeopardy as the gap between rich and poor grows, Canada's medicare system
calls out for reform, and major challenges face us in terms of a cleaner environment
and the improvement of life prospects for Aboriginal peoples."
Related Links:
Council
of Canadians
Atkinson
Charitable Foundation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Existence, Extent and Elimination of Canada's Fiscal Imbalance:
Report of the
Subcommittee on Fiscal Imbalance
Yvan Loubier, M.P.
(Chair of the Subcommittee)
Standing Committee on Finance
June 2005
PDF
version (1.6MB, 92 pages)
Source:
Source:
House
of Commons Committees
Reports and Responses
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CUPE
to premiers: No more waiting, stop privatization
Health privatization
inventory underscores need for action
August 10, 2005
"OTTAWA, ON.
– Canada’s largest union is urging provincial and territorial leaders,
meeting today at the Council of the Federation in Banff, Alb., to take a vital
step in shortening wait times for medical treatment by stopping the spread of
health care privatization."
Related Links:
Innovation
exposed, an inventory of privatization in health care
Backgrounder
on health care waiting lists (Word file - 33K)
Source:
Canadian
Union of Public Employees
Related Link:
Council of the Federation Website (includes media releases from the meeting)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minister
of Finance Tables Legislation to Implement 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care
News
Release
February 7, 2005
"Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale today tabled
legislation in the House of Commons to implement the Government of Canada’s
10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care, which was signed by all 14 first ministers
at their September 2004 meeting."
Source:
Department
of Finance Canada
Details
concerning the 10-year plan
- from the website
of the Prime Minister of Canada
Related Link:
Ten-Year
Plan to Strengthen Health Care and new Framework for
Equalization and Territorial
Financing Formula: Impact on Federal Transfers to
Provinces and Territories
October
28, 2004
Source:
Finance Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Provincial/Territorial
Government Health Spending Expected to Reach $84 Billion in 2004–2005,
Reports
Canadian Institute for Health information: Projected
growth lowest in seven years"
News
Release
November 3, 2004
"A new report on provincial and territorial
government health spending released today by the Canadian Institute for Health
Information (CIHI) shows continued growth in health care spending from provincial
and territorial governments. Today’s report, Preliminary Provincial/Territorial
Government Health Expenditure, 1974–1975 to 2004–2005, reveals provincial
and territorial governments are expected to spend $83.9 billion in 2004–2005,
an increase of 5.1% over the previous year, the lowest growth recorded since 1997–1998.
Provincial and territorial government health spending was projected to reach $74.0
billion in 2002–2003 and $79.8 billion in 2003–2004, reflecting annual
growth rates of 7.0% and 7.9% respectively. After removing the effects of inflation,
health care expenditures in constant 1997 dollars are projected to reach $72.6
billion in 2004–2005, reflecting a real growth rate of 2.9%."
- incl.
links to info about : Proportion of Provincial GDP | Per Capita Spending | Proportion
of Governments’ Programs | Category of Service | About NHEX | About CIHI
| Charts and Tables | Report | Contact
Complete
report
(Registration required, but you don't need to give your e-mail
address if you value your privacy)
Executive
Summary
Table
of Contents (no links, just the table of contents)
Source:
Canadian
Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
Also from CIHI:
Inpatient
Hospitalizations Continue to Decline, Same-Day Surgery Visits on the Rise,
Reports
Canadian Institute for Health Information
News Release
October
29, 2004
"New data available today from the Canadian Institute for Health
Information (CIHI) show that inpatient hospitalizations declined by 14.4% between
1995–1996 and 2002–2003, and by 1.7% between 2001–2002 and 2002–2003.
Overall, there were 2,770,128 inpatient hospitalizations in Canada in 2002–2003,
down from 3,235,313 in 1995–1996. The age-adjusted inpatient hospitalization
rate (per 100,000 population) reflects this trend, declining by 22.3% since 1995–1996
and by 3.3% between 2001–2002 and 2002–2003. While most provinces and
territories reported a decrease in inpatient hospitalizations between 2001–2002
and 2002–2003, increases were observed in Alberta (2.0%) and the Yukon Territory
(6.5%). The largest decreases in inpatient hospitalizations between 2001–2002
and 2002–2003 were reported by the Northwest Territories (8.0%) and New Brunswick
(4.9%)."
- incl. in this release: Same-Day Surgery | Length of Stay |
Hospitalizations | About CIHI | Charts/Tables | Contact
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Privatization:
"Innovation" Exposed - An ongoing inventory of major privatization initiatives
in Canada's health care system, 2003-2004
November 4, 2004
"Privatization
within Canada’s health care system has grown relentlessly since January of
2003, when former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Provincial Premiers and
Territorial Leaders signed the 2003 First Ministers’ Accord on Health Care
Renewal. Our political leaders, through this Accord, sought to assure Canadians
that they were working “in partnership” to preserve, enhance and sustain
our public health care system. But nowhere in their “commitment to Canadians”
did our leaders commit to public delivery of health care."
Complete report (PDF file - 599K, 42 pages)
Source:
Canadian
Union of Public Employees
Also from CUPE:
CUPE
Privatization Database
October 19, 2004
- this online database tracks
more than 500 incidents, past and present, of privatization, contracting out,
and public-private partnership.You can view incidents by province, by town, by
sector, by local number or by keyword.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Prime
Minister announces new equalization
and territorial funding formula framework
News
Release
News Release
October 26, 2004
"Ottawa --- Prime Minister
Paul Martin today announced a new framework that, subject to approval by Parliament,
will increase the support provided to provinces and territories under the Equalization
and Territorial Financing Formula (TFF) programs by $33 billion over ten years.The
increased funding will assist Canada’s less prosperous provinces and the
three territories in meeting their commitments under the Ten-Year Plan to Strengthen
Health Care as well as their other priorities."
Source:
Office
of the Prime Minister
NOTE:
A meeting of Premiers was held in Ottawa on October 25, 2004. Google.ca
News Search Results: "first
ministers' meeting, october" See also the Canada Assistance Plan / Canada Health and Social Transfer / Canada Social Transfer Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/cap.htm |
On the subject of Fiscal Imbalance... Balance
Sheets Revenue
and expenditures Source: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick
Guide to Federalism - from cric.ca |
Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Health News Release Toronto - May 13, 2006 "Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health have agreed to step up their efforts to strengthen public health capacity in preparing for an influenza pandemic and other public health threats." - includes two backgrounders : Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan and Antivirals Source: Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat Annual
Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Health Annual
Conference of the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers of Health ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A
10-YEAR PLAN TO ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health
Care Renewal ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The
First Ministers' Conference on Health Care ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Canadian Union of Public Employees: A
10-year plan to strengthen health care? CUPE
Comments on the First Ministers' Meeting ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Ontario Health Coalition: First
Ministers' Agreement: Outline of the First Ministers' Deal on Healthcare ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual
Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Health 2003
First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal |
Public
Health Agency of Canada
- incl. links to : About the Agency - Media
Room - Chronic Diseases - Emergency Preparedness - Health Promotion - Immunization
- Infectious Diseases - Injury Prevention - Surveillance - Travel - Health - Quick
Links - Centres and Labs - Publications - Guidelines - A-Z Index - Child Health
- Adult Health - Seniors' Health - Surveillance - Health Canada
Prime
Minister Paul Martin Has Launched the Public Health Agency of Canada
September
24, 2004
News Release
"Prime Minister Paul Martin has launched the
Public Health Agency of Canada and has announced the appointment of Dr. David
Butler-Jones as Chief Public Health Officer. The Agency will be responsible for
public health, including emergency preparedness and response, infectious and chronic
disease prevention and control, injury prevention and health promotion."
Health
Care Renewal Accord 2003 Federal
Health Investments |
The
Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada Building on Values: The Future of
Health Care in Canada Resources/Research
- links to all 40 research and discussion papers covering a range of health topics,
plus Key Public Opinion Documents |
Premiers'
Council on Canadian Health Awareness NOTE:
As at October 28/04, the Premiers' Council on Canadian Health Awareness link refers
visitors to the Council of the Federation website. NOTE: The Funding Facts page of this sub-site is where you'll find some of specific provincial-territorial views on how much the federal government is contributing (16% of the total cost), and how much it should be contributing ("a fair share"), towards the cost of insured health care in Canada. Premiers
Launch New Public Awareness Campaign on Health Care Funding A
new study confirms the existence of fiscal imbalance (PDF file - 9K,
1 page) Complete report: Update
February 2004: Related Links: Vertical
Fiscal Imbalance: Investing in Canada's Health Care System (from the 2003 Federal Budget) |
Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
The
Health of Canadians – The Federal Role
Final Report
Volume Six: Recommendations
for Reform
Chair: The Honourable
Michael J.L. Kirby
Deputy Chair: The Honourable Marjory LeBreton
October
2002
Senate
Committee recommends $5B national health care premium new money to reform and
expand health care system
News Release
October 25, 2002
"Canadians
need to contribute an additional $5 billion per year to health care in order to
make the publicly funded system financially sustainable and avert the emergence
of a parallel private health care system. The decision facing Canadians is whether
they are prepared to make that investment in order to overhaul Medicare."
Speaking
Notes for Senators (on the release of Volume Six)
Report
- Table of Contents and Part One, plus links to the rest of the report
(HTML
- 186K, 29 pages)
Complete
report - PDF file - 1169K, 392 pages
Highlights
(HTML - 240K, 43 pages)
Highlights
(PDF version - 158K, 54 pages)
Source:
Recent
Senate Reports
(37th Parliament, 2nd Session)
- incl. links to
volumes one to five in this series (from 37th Parliament, 1st Session)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P3Watch
"Increasingly,
in Canada, public-private partnerships (P3s) are being touted as an innovative
method for governments to provide public infrastructure such as hospitals. Faced
with tight budgets, some governments are hailing P3s as the salvation of public
infrastructure. P3Watch is an independent, non-profit, grassroots information
resource for people and organizations concerned about the growing threat of P3s
to Canada’s public medicare system."
- coalition of individuals,
public health care advocacy groups, unions, social justice groups, and other community
organizations
- incl. News (on the home page) - Campaigns - Privateers - Research
- Resources - Links - About us - Search
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the Canadian Union of Public Employees:
“Innovation”
Exposed:
An Ongoing Inventory of Major Privatization Initiatives in Canada's
Health Care System
2003-2004
Updated July 28, 2004
"Private,
for-profit health care has proliferated since the First Ministers’ Accord
on Health Care was signed in January 2003. This inventory lists many of those
initiatives including public private partnerships, evidence of two-tier access
to services, private for-profit clinics and other threats to sustainable, equitable
public health care.
The inventory, in this version, distinguishes three major
forms of privatization:
- private, for-profit hospitals (often P3s);
-
private facilities and services (clinics, for example); and
- contracting
out.
Word file
- 219K, 39 pages
PDF
file (149K, 39 pages)
Inventory
of Major Privatization Initiatives in Canada's Health Care System in 2003-2004
Updated
April 2004
"Private, for-profit health care has proliferated, since the
First Ministers’ Accord on Health Care was signed in January 2003. This inventory
lists many of those initiatives including public private partnerships, evidence
of two-tier access to services, private for-profit clinics and other threats to
sustainable, equitable public health care
Complete report (PDF file - 475K, 30 pages)
Related CUPE Links:
Feds
ducking responsibility to enforce Canada Health Act
May 6, 2004
"Ottawa
--- In the midst of the swirling controversy about the Liberals’ commitment
to public delivery of health care, the federal government is trying to block a
court case that would put their failure to enforce the Canada Health Act (CHA)
under legal scrutiny."
Paul
Moist (CUPE President) tells the finance minister: quit starving the provinces
April
6, 2004
- outlines CUPE concerns about the federal/provincial equalization
program as well as the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer.
-
incl. sections on: Fiscal imbalance - the need to reform the Equalization formula
in a fundamental way - the Canada Health Transfer - the Canada Social Transfer.
Source:
Canadian
Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin
backs right of his physician to run private clinic
May 8, 2004
"SAGUENAY
-- Prime Minister Paul Martin defended his family doctor's right to operate private
clinics where patients who pay the price gain quick access to certain medical
tests. He said yesterday he has never received any health-care services at his
doctor's Montreal clinic that were not available to the general public."
Source:
The
Globe and Mail
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin's
MD runs for-profit clinics
PM says he's no health queue-jumper; Opposition
parties label him hypocrite
May 8, 2004
"OTTAWA—Federal
Liberal plans for an election campaign focused mainly on health care suffered
a setback after Prime Minister Paul Martin's personal physician was dragged into
the political fray. Martin was forced to acknowledge yesterday
that he goes to a Montreal doctor who founded a series of private, for-profit
clinics — Medisys Health Group Inc*.,
which bills itself as "one of Canada's leading national providers of health
care services to corporations and insurance companies."
Source:
The
Toronto Star
*Medisys Health Group - "Corporate Healthcare in Canada"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three
Choices for the Future of Medicare
Gregory P. Marchildon
April
2004
This paper argues that Canadians are at a crossroads in terms of the future
of medicare. Critical directional decisions will be made at the First Ministers
Meeting in a few months. Ottawa must decide its role before it negotiates with
the provinces the future of a policy that is an integral part of the country’s
identity.
Complete
report - (PDF file - 88K, 20 pages)
Source:
Caledon
Institute of Social Policy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Medicare
under Attack : The Chaoulli Case
March 18, 2004
"Medicare is
increasingly under attack by social and economic elites. An unprecedented threat
is The Chaoulli case that will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on June
8, 2004, alleging Medicare is unconstitutional. Joining the case to ask the Supreme
Court to open the door to a full-fledged private health insurance system in Canada
is a group of 10 senators, led by Senator Michael Kirby and a group of for-profit
health corporations. The plaintiffs in the case are Jacques Chaoulli, a doctor,
and George Zeliotis. They alleged that the lack of timely access to provincially
insured health care services, coupled with legislative restrictions on access
to private care, amounted to a violation of section 7 of the Charter. This argument
was rejected in two lower courts in Quebec."
Source:
Canadian
Health Coalition
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health
Accord, One Year Later: Accountability Still A Challenge
News
Release
March 19, 2004
"Canadians have made it clear – they see
greater accountability as essential to health reform. And the First Ministers
made accountability a key thrust of their new Accord on Health Care Renewal, a
year ago. Governments across Canada are taking steps to deliver on that commitment.
Yet, despite all the talk and the evident goodwill, we are still far from having
a truly accountable health care system.
The first of the Health Care Accountability
Papers, a new series of reports from CPRN’s Health Network, points to some
of the reasons. Rhetoric, Fallacy or Dream? Accountability to Citizens in Canadian
Health Care, by Cathy Fooks and Lisa Maslove, finds confusion over the meaning
of “accountability”, and a failure to think through its application
to the relationships within the health care system."
- Click on "Download"
to read the news release (small PDF file, 2 pages)
Rhetoric,
Fallacy or Dream? Examining the
Accountability of Canadian Health Care to
Citizens
- Click on "Download" to read the complete
report in PDF format - 1.6MB, 54 pages
Summary
of the report
- Click on "Download" to read the report summary
in PDF format - 529K, 3 pages)
Source:
Canadian
Policy Research Networks (CPRN)
Also from CPRN:
NetworkNews
- Summer 2004 Issue
"The Summer edition of our quarterly newsletter NetworkNews,
looks at the legal routes to achieving accountability in health care, along with
recent cases and their consequences, part of the Health Network's Health Care
Accountability Papers."
Complete
Newsletter (PDF file - 472K, 12 pages)
[Click "Download" to open
the PDF file]
Provincial Government Health Ministries British Columbia - Alberta - Saskatchewan - Manitoba - Ontario - Québec - New Brunswick - Nova Scotia - Prince Edward Island - Newfoundland and Labrador - Northwest Territories - Yukon - Nunavut |
Quick
Guide > Health Care in Canada
Health Care - A System Under
Strain
Over 400 links to information about the state of health care
in Canada organized under 14 headings
Source : Centre
for Research and Information on Canada
Big
Picture : Curing Health Care (CBC)
On March 4, 2002, a Big Picture
special called "Curing Health Care" examined a number of issues such
as primary care nurse, the lack of doctors in rural areas and how medical practitioners
are using new technology that not only promises to save lives, but time and money
too. On this site, you'll find reports from the full day of coverage as well as
a message board, in-depth coverage on various topics from CBC News Online and
links to related external Web sites.
The
Romanow Report - an overview (CBC) - March 7, 2002
Source : Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation
Yahoo Canada News - Health Funding and Legislation
Yahoo Canada News - The Private Health Care Debate
Health
Care - The Romanow Report
Source: The
Globe and Mail
Google.ca search: Medicare, Canada (400,000+ results)
Two Excellent multimedia presentations* from CBC Archives! Medicare
and Social Welfare: Tommy Douglas and the NDP The
Birth of Medicare *NOTES:
Source: |
New from the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) :
Roy
Romanow applauds national health council launch
December 11, 2003
"Roy
Romanow, who headed the royal commission on the future of health care, is pleased
that the federal government is going ahead with a national health council."
Canadian
leaders urged to implement Romanow Report
November 26, 2003
"An
open letter to Paul Martin and provincial and territorial leaders"
Promise
unfulfilled: the Romanow report one year later
November 26, 2003
"NUPGE
appeals to Paul Martin to honour Canada's Medicare dream"
NUPGE pamphlet: Be there for medicare (PDF file - 141K, 2 pages)
Reading
Romanow : The Implications of the Final Report of
The Commission on the Future
of Health Care in Canada for Women (PDF file - 429K, 65 pages)
The
National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women
January 2003 -
Updated to April 2003
"Prepared by the National Coordinating Group
on Health Care Reform and Women. Offers a chapter-by-chapter gendered analysis
of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care, Building
on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada (Romanow 2002). Argues that the
Report fails to recognize the significant ways in which health care is an issue
for women, particularly for those women providing unpaid personal care and those
receiving care.(...) Just as Canada should be a leader in seeing health as a human
right, it should also be a leader in promoting gender equality in Canada and globally.
Unless this is understood, planning for care is bound to fail in its objectives."
Source
: Centres of Excellence for Women's
Health
Related Links:
What's
Hot in Women's Health Policy
[Canadian
Women's Health Network]
Brigit's
Notes - sample issue online (May 2003)
- Subscribe
to Brigit's Notes
THE
CANADA HEALTH ACT : OVERVIEW AND OPTIONS
Odette Madore
Economics
Division
Revised 16 June 2003
"This document gives an overview
of the Canada Health Act. It does not set out to offer a legal interpretation
of the Act; rather, it seeks to take stock of the evolution of the way it is implemented
and examine its future prospects. The first section reviews the justifications
for government intervention in the health care sector, while the second describes
the respective roles of the federal government and the provinces. The third section
traces the historical background of the Act, and the fourth presents an overview
of the requirements attached to it. In the fifth section, penalties for defaults
under the Act are described, and in the sixth and final section, some options
are set out for maintaining the Act or improving it."
Source : Parliamentary
Research Branch (Library of Parliament)
Towards
A Consensus On Continuing Chaos (PDF file -
140K, 19 pages)
Claude E. Forget
February 2003
C.D. Howe Institute Commentary
"The Romanow and Kirby reports on the Canadian health-care system fail to
provide a basis for lasting reform. In fact, the reports and their findings are
destined for the overflowing dustbin of the history of health-care studies in
Canada. Fortunately, that does not mean that we have to throw our cherished health-care
system itself on the rubbish heap. It does mean that any reconstructive program
has to be based on realistic expectations and real-world realities."
Source
: C.D. Howe Institute
From
the Institute for Research on Public
Policy (IRPP) :
Policy
Options"Canada's premier public policy magazine"
February
2003 Issue (Policy Options)
Includes the following five analyses of
the Romanow report:
(Click on the link above, then scroll down to the article
of your choice on that page)
- "Romanow-A Defence of Public Health Care,
But is There a Map for the Road Ahead?" by Antonia Maioni
- "Le défi
de la santé dans un contexte électoral : redonner aux Québécois
unsystème public de santé à la hauteur de leurs attentes"
by Jean Charest
- "L' « épineuse » question d'André
Burelle et le rapport Romanow" by John Richards
- "He Said, She Said:
The Debate on Vertical Fiscal Imbalance and Federal Health-Care Funding"
by France St-Hilaire and Harvey Lazar
- "Health Care as a Commodity"
by Joseph Heath
Fiscal Dispute among Governments
in Canada Is Damaging to the Cause of Health Care Reform
"On January
27, the IRPP and the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations released Money,
Politics and Health Care: Reconstructing the Federal-Provincial Partnership, edited
by Harvey Lazar and France St-Hilaire. The contributors to the volume maintain
that continual federal-provincial squabbling over health care funding has hampered
the process of reform needed to ensure the quality and sustainability of health
care for future generations. Moreover, this inability to address the real problems
in the system has in itself become detrimental to the proper functioning of the
federation."
News
Release (small PDF file) - January 27, 2004
Report:
Money,
Politics and Health Care: Reconstructing the Federal-Provincial Partnership
Order
a copy of this book
Chapter
on vertical fiscal imbalance (PDF file - 625K, 54 pages)
Source:
Institute
for Research on Public Policy
Dec/2002
- Jan/2003 Issue (Policy Options)
Health
Care: From Reinvesting to Reinventing (PDF file - 44K, 5 pages)
An
interview with Michael Kirby
From the Canadian Health Coalition :
Statement
by Roy Romanow Regarding the 2003 First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal
February
6, 2003
English
| Français
[small
PDF files]
First Ministers' Accord
on Health Care Renewal (full text)
February
5, 2003
English
| French
[small
PDF files]
Analysis - links to analysis of the health care accord by 8 groups, from the Canadian Health Coalition to the Council of Canadians and the BC Nurses Union.
Media
Coverage [small PDF file]
- six full-text articles from the Toronto
Star and the Globe and Mail analysing the accord
On-Line
Petition to Implement the Romanow Report
"We want our tax dollars
spent on public health care for patients, not for private profits
Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health Response to the Romanow Commission Report
"The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) supports the overall
directions set out in the Romanow Commission's Final Report. We are pleased that
the Commissioner has reaffirmed and expanded upon the five principles of the Canada
Health Act and has recommended that they apply to more than acute care institutions
and physicians."
Don't
cherry-pick from report, Romanow urges - by Matt Borsellino (Medical Post)
" 'To govern means to choose,' Roy Romanow told a specially convened
gathering of editors and broadcasters from Rogers Media the day after releasing
the final report of the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. Yet
choosing from its 47 recommendations - and undoubtedly the numerous variations
that will emerge - is likely to go on for years. Federal legislators will not
only need to prioritize the contents of Romanow's $15-million, 356-page report,
they'll also have to put them in the context of the $300,000, 381-page final report
of the Senate standing committee on social affairs, science and technology led
by Michael Kirby released in late October."
Health
Spending to Top $112 Billion in 2002, Reports Canadian Institute for Health Information
(CIHI)
"The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported
today that annual health expenditures are expected to reach $112.2 billion in
2002. This represents an increase of 6.3% over the previous year, down from the
rates of growth recorded in 2000 (8.5%) and 2001 (8.4%)."
NOTE: I found the above three links in the January 2003 issue of the Disability Research Digest - an excellent monthly collection of links to Canadian and American sites about disability from the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities
"Response
to the Romanow Report"
December 2002
Remarks
to the Canadian Club of Toronto and to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce
by
Senator Michael Kirby
"The national health care debate has now been
joined. This debate will come to a head at the First Ministers’ meeting in
late January."
Responses
to the final report by the Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in
Canada
Updated to December 31, 2002
Full text of reactions to the
Romanow Report from the websites of dozens of non-governmental organizations and
unions, from the Canadian Council on Social Development to Canadian Auto Workers
(CAW) and the Ontario New Democratic Party --- and the
Ontario Premier and Health Minister too.
Source : DAWN
DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario
Fiscal
Federalism and Health (PDF file - 765K , 35
pages)
November 15, 2002
Federal-Provincial Relations and Health
Care: Reconstructing the Partnership
by The Institute of Intergovernmental
Relations
School of Policy Studies
Queen’s University
November 2002
Response
to Conference Board of Canada Report on Vertical Fiscal Imbalance
August 20, 2002
"The provincial and territorial Ministers of Finance
commissioned the Conference Board of Canada to produce 20-year fiscal projections
for the federal government and the aggregate of the provinces and territories.
The resulting report shows large and growing federal surpluses over the next two
decades while the provincial-territorial sector records small deficits. The report
thus concludes that a vertical fiscal imbalance exists in Canada. (...) Interestingly,
the new report’s methodology and results are inconsistent with a previous
Conference Board report - published in October 2001 - that projected that the
provinces would record surpluses over the next 20 years under reasonable assumptions."
Source
: Department of Finance Canada
Related Links:
Fiscal
Prospects for the Federal and Provincial-Territorial Governments (July
2002, PDF file - 299K, 57 pages)
Source : Conference
Board of Canada
A
New Study by the Conference Board Confirms the Existence of an important Fiscal
Imbalance in Canada
(News release from the 43rd Annual Premiers'
Conference - July 31 to August 2, 2002)
Premiers'
Conference website
Finance
Ministers Want More Funding
News Release
April 26, 2002
"Provinces and Territories need more federal funding
to pay for health care and other public programs, provincial and territorial Finance
Ministers told Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin in Corner Brook, Nfld., today."
Related Link :
Provincial/Territorial
Finance Ministers' Position Paper: Fiscal Imbalance (PDF file - 110K,
5 pages)
The
Future Cost of Health Care in Canada, 2000 to 2020
- Balancing Affordability and Sustainability
(October 2001,
PDF file - 562K, 84 pages)
Source : Conference
Board of Canada
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
Putting
Health First: Canadian Health Care Reform, Trade Treaties and Foreign Policy:
A report by the CCPA to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada
October 2002
Complete
report (PDF file - 634K, 81 pages) --- [version
française]
Read
the news release --- [version
française]
Read
the summary (English only)
CCPA
Health Care page - includes links to 14 reports plus a similar number of "fast
facts" and commentaries on a wide range of health care issues, such as :
Health Spending in Ontario - Women's Health and Social Inequality - Addiction
in Free Market Society - A National Pharmacare Plan : Combining Efficiency and
Equity - Canada, the GATS and the Future of Health Care - Restructuring and Privatization
in Ontario Health Care - How Medicare is Undermined by Gaps and Privatization
in Community and Continuing Care - The Privatization of Medicare - The Future
of Medicare: Recovering the Canada Health Act (by Monique Begin, former federal
Liberal Health Minister) - Health and Wealth: How Socio-Economic Factors Affect
Our Well-Being - How Corporations Are Taking Over Canada's Health Care System
- etc.
Waiting
For Romanow: Canada's Health Care Values Under Fire
September 19,
2002
"Attacks on Medicare are also attacks on the underlying core values
of Canadians--values such as fairness, compassion, equality of opportunity, and
social solidarity--and so a defence of Medicare is essential to protect the values
that we Canadians see as defining who we are. Our support for an accessible public
health care system is the one bond we have that transcends geography, ethnicity,
language, gender, race and class."
Complete
Report (PDF file - 129K, 15 pages)
The
Real Reason Medicare is in Trouble : Governments prefer tax cuts to adequate health
care funding
December 2001/January 2002
"...the
most immediate threat to Medicare's future is neither new technology nor old Canadians,
but the process former U.S. Labour Secretary Robert Reich calls "the secession
of the successful."
Source : CCPA
Monitor
Cut
the rhetoric, not health care
November 19, 2001
By Paul Leduc
Browne
"...as a country we have been spending less on health care
for the past decade than we did in 1991/1992! Talk about health care spending
soaring out of control. The only thing out of control is the rhetoric and arithmetic
of some of our politicians."
Primary
Health Care Reform Discussion Paper (PDF file - 222K, 24 pages)
Canadian Health Coalition : Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada |
Waiting
in the Wings!
by Darren Puscas
September 2002
"How
for-profit health corporations are planning to cash-in on the privatization of
Medicare in Canada."
Source : Polaris
Institute
Government
Finance: Revenue, Expenditure and Surplus
"The first decline
in overall government revenues in four decades, combined with a rise in overall
spending, resulted in significant shifts in the distribution of deficits and surpluses
in the fiscal year 2001/02, according to new consolidated estimates of government
finances. (...) Health, social services and education drive expenditure
increases..."
Source : Statistics
Canada, The Daily (Monday, June 24, 2002)
NOTE : "Consolidated
government is the general term used to describe the consolidation of the federal
government, the provincial and territorial governments, local governments and
the Canada and Quebec pension plans."
Canada
2015: Globalization and the Future of Canada’s Health and Health Care
(PDF file - 114K, 35 pages)
Michael Mendelson and Pamela Divinsky
July
2002
"This report describes four scenarios for future global economic
and political structures – called Global Club, Shared Governance, Cyberwave
and Regional Dominators – and looks at the future of health and health care
in Canada within each of these scenarios. The report is part of the ‘Future
of Global and Regional Integration’ project, sponsored by the Institute of
Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University, where the scenarios originally
were developed. The report is meant to speculate not so much on what will be,
as what could be, in an effort to stimulate consideration of our health system’s
relationship to global futures."
Source : Caledon
Institute of Social Policy
Women
and Healthcare: A Brief to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada
June 2002
Source : Nova Scotia Advisory
Council on the Status of Women (NSACSW)
Canadian
Institute for Health Information
"The Canadian Institute for
Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, national, not-for-profit organization
working to improve the health of Canadians and the health care system by providing
quality, reliable and timely health information. CIHI's mandate was established
jointly by federal and provincial/territorial ministers of health to coordinate
the development and maintenance of a comprehensive and integrated approach to
health information for Canada, and to provide and coordinate the provision of
accurate and timely data and information required for establishing sound health
policy, effectively managing the Canadian health system, and generating public
awareness about factors affecting good health."
See the Sitemap
of this enormous site for an overview of its content incl. links to research &
reports, the CIHI Data Collection, standards, statistics and client services.
Health
Care in Canada, 2004 Complete
Report (PDF file - 2.1MB, 135 pages) Nearly
a Quarter of Canadians Report a Preventable Adverse Event in Own Care or That
of a Family Member: |
Drug
Expenditure in Canada 1985-2003 Drug
Spending in Canada Still on the Rise; Public Sector’s Share Increasing, Reports
CIHI Complete
Report Source: ---------------------------------------------------------- Related Links: Drug
Expense Coverage in the Canadian Population: Source: Related Link from the Fraser Group: Canadians' Access to
Insurance for Prescription Medicines |
Growth
in Provincial and Territorial Government Health Care Spending Slows,
Reports
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
Media Release
November
6, 2002
- incl. links to : Categories | Program Budget & GDP | Provincial
| Comparisons | NHEX | Tables/Charts | About CIHI | Contact
"New figures
released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) today show that
growth in provincial and territorial government spending on health has slowed.
After removing the effects of inflation, real growth in provincial and territorial
health expenditures is expected to be 2.5% in 2002/2003, following growth rates
of between 5.7% and 7.6% over the last 4 years. (...) Despite the lower growth
projected this year, provincial and territorial governments have been investing
in health care in real terms at a rate that is, on average, higher than any other
five year period since 1975/1976."
Report
Highlights Regional Differences in Health Care Services and Outcomes of Care
Media Release
May 29, 2002
"TORONTO - There are significant
regional differences in health and health services across Canada, according to
a new report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)."
-
incl. Mortality Rates | Readmission Rates | Better Health
Information | Health System Overview | Public Health Programs | Drug Use and Cost
| About the Report | Backgrounders | Contact
Health
Care in Canada 2002
"This report provides up-to-date information
on what we know and don't know about the performance of Canada's health care system.
Topics covered in the report include the continuum of care, health expenditures,
Canada's health care professionals, and outcomes of care. Included with this report
is the Health Indicators insert, providing new data on a range of health
and health system-related indicators at both regional and provincial/territorial
levels."
The above link takes you to a collection of background papers,
highlights, the complete paper and individual chapters, a feedback/comments form,
a link where you can subscribe for updates, and more...
The
Charter and Health Care : Guaranteeing Timely Access to Health Care for Canadians
(PDF file - 186K, 31 pages)
May 2002
C.D. Howe Institute Commentary
By Stanley H. Hartt Q.C. and Patrick J. Monahan
"Since the public
health care system fails to deliver medically necessary services in a timely manner,
provincial laws that effectively bar the private purchase of such services violate
section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Communiqué
(PDF file - 42K, 2 pages) - May 14, 202
Source : The
Health Papers (scroll down the page and click on the title)
From the C.D.
Howe Institute
Also in the Health Papers series
:
- Funding Public Provision of Private Health: The Case for a Copayment
Contribution through the Tax System (May 2002)
- Managing Medicare:
The Prerequisite to Spending or Reform (January 2002)
- Integrating
Canada’s Dis-Integrated Health Care System (April 2001)
- Will
the Baby Boomers Bust the Health Budget? Demographic Change and Health Care Financing
Reform (February 2001)
(Go to the C.D.
Howe Institute Publications Page, then scroll down that page to find these
reports by date)
Council
of Canadians - Profit is not
the cure
A Call to Citizens to Take Action for the Future of Health
Care
News
Releases from the Provincial-Territorial Premiers' Meeting
Vancouver,
British Columbia - January 24-25, 2002
-
Provinces Pave the Way for the Future of Medicare
- Genetics
and Preparing for Change
Genetics,
Testing & Gene Patenting : Charting New Territory in Healthcare
(PDF file - 947K, 160 pages)
Draft Report
January 2002
Related
Links :
- Sustainable
Health Care for Canadians - News release from the August 2001 Premiers'
Conference
-Charts
(PDF file - 15K, 4 pages) - showing the declining federal support to provincial/territorial
health and social programs (from the August 2001 news release).
First Ministers'
Meeting
Press Releases
September
2000
New Brunswick Medicare - "This website is designed to provide New Brunswick residents with general information on the main features and benefits of New Brunswick Medicare."
Ontario
Ontario Health Coalition - Campaign to Save Medicare
No
Mystery Behind Crisis in Ontario Hospitals : Study
Health Spending
in Ontario: Bleeding Our Hospitals - Ontario Alternative Budget Technical
Paper #4
News Release
May 6, 2002
"Contrary to much-repeated
mythology, health spending in Ontario is not out of control. Nor is it taking
a bigger share of the economic and fiscal pie. Health care spending has increased
as a share of total government program spending, but only because all non-health
care spending has been reduced or flat-lined."
Complete
report online - (PDF file - 645K, 13 pages)
- Check
out other Ontario Alternative Budget papers
Source : Ontario
Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Go to the Canadian
Centre for Policy Alternatives National Office
Federal-Provincial-Territorial Issues : Health Care Costs
Understanding
Canada's Health Care Costs: Interim Report
June
2000 (complete report - 70 pages, 574K)
-
Executive
Summary (6 pages, 27K)
NOTE: This
was a joint provincial territorial initiative, so most provincial and territorial
governments issued a similar press release on the same date. You can usually find
these releases on the Premier's page or the What's New page of any given jurisdiction.
They all point to the same report and summary located on the Ontario Health Ministry
website, and they all say pretty much the same thing (with a personal quote from
the relevant Premier)...
And now, for something completely different...
"Ontario
and Canada: Loyal Forever"
Notes for an address by the Honourable
Stéphane Dion, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental
Affairs
Distinguished Speaker Series
Faculty of Law
University of Western Ontario
September 21, 2001
Alberta
Premier's Advisory Council on Health
Alberta
New Democrats
Alberta Liberal
Caucus
New Parkland Institute Report
Highlights Strengths of Public Health Care
More Private Financing Will Increase
Costs and Hurt Accessibility
Press
Release - November 2, 2004
Executive
Summary (PDF file - 29K, 5 pages)
Complete
Report:
Public
Remedies, Not Private Payments:
Quality Health Care in Alberta
(2.2MB, 158 pages)
November 2004
Minister
McLellan and Minister Mar announce $54 million to strengthen primary health care
in Alberta
News Release
August 28, 2002
Source
: Health Canada
"...the
Government of Canada is investing over $54 million in initiatives designed to
ensure Albertans have access to high-quality, affordable and sustainable primary
health care services."
A
Framework for Reform : Report of the Premier's Advisory Council on Health
January 8, 2002
"...a comprehensive package of recommendations
designed to put the health system on a sustainable foundation for the future."
- incl. Highlights of the Report
- Full
Report (PDF, 5 MB, 76 pages)
News Releases (January 8, 2002)
- Government
will act on landmark report, Klein and Mar confirm
- Premier's
Advisory Council on Health releases comprehensive report on health reform
Related Link:
Alberta
Health First (PDF file - 2.8 MB, 4 pages) - Govt. of Alberta
"For a good look inside Alberta's health care issues"
Alberta New Democrats
: See "Response to the Mazankowski Report"
Alberta Liberal Caucus : See "Making Medicare Better"
Source : Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC)
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