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Govind Rao

Liberal government revives 'zombie' health-care report - The Globe and Mail - 1 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article28252782

from heather accord federal

shared by Govind Rao on 19 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • onday, Jan. 18, 2016
  • An expert report that recommended a more active role by Ottawa in health-care innovation, and was quietly buried by the former Conservative government, is enjoying a second life under a new health minister who says she is a “huge fan.”
Govind Rao

Protesters outnumber participants at budget forum - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/...238382696

from heather NB cupe budget campaign

shared by Govind Rao on 21 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal Thu Jan 21 2016
  • SAINT JOHN * The protesters who arrived at the New Brunswick Community College Saint John gym Wednesday night in response to the Liberal government's budget consultation tour outnumbered those who wanted to participate by almost four to one. More than 300 union members, mostly from CUPE, lined up along the walls of the room while about 80 people occupied the tables set up for the group discussions on the options put in front of them by the government for cutting costs and raising revenue. Finance Minister Roger Melanson said the province has been using deficit financing for the past seven years, spending more than it takes in and borrowing to cover the difference.
  • On average, I on your behalf as finance minister, have to borrow approximately $400 million per year to put on the debt to pay for daily needs," he said. The provincial budget, which is expected to be unveiled on Feb. 2, in the past few years has been around $8.6 billion. Stephen Drost, president of CUPE Local 1418, representing over 1,100 professionals in the province, including social workers, probation officers and child protection officers, said the choices being put to the public by the government are not the ones that were presented to the government in consultations that took place last year. "This is nothing more than political theatre," he said.
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  • There are good solutions to the government's financial problems out there but they are not being discussed, he said. Government ministers keep saying the province has a structural deficit but Drost said that is not true. He says the union has consulted financial analysts who say there is a revenue deficit because businesses are not paying their fair share of taxes. "We have been in this crunch ever since they lowered corporate tax," he said. Saint John Coun. Gerry Lowe said he spoke to Melanson before the group discussions began. Lowe said he asked the minister if he had looked at all the equipment at the Irving Oil Refinery as he was driving up to the community college. "At the refinery, the only things that are taxed are the tanks and the buildings, and nothing else, and it is the same in industries throughout the province," he said.
  • Two years ago, the pulp mills in the province all received a reduction on their property tax bills which cost both the province and Saint John money they could have used to provide services to the people, Lowe said. There is a lot more room for the province to raise taxes for major corporations, he said. Judy Lane, CEO of Kings Way Life Care Alliance which has nursing homes in Saint John and Quispamsis, came to be part of the solution but said there are more opportunities for solving the province's financial problems than were presented on the documents for discussion at the forum.
  • As someone who works in health care, she said there are many opportunities to find cost savings without cutting services and she is still looking for ways to get that message across, even though the forum didn't seem to be the place to do it. "I've been in the system 30 years and everywhere I look there are opportunities for improvements," she said. David Lutz, who was the spokesman for one table, said New Brunswick has too many municipalities and too many MLAs and could save money through amalgamation. Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton should all take in their surrounding communities, he said.
  • "We have more municipal elected people than they have in Mississauga which has over a million people," he said. Lutz also called for closing small hospitals, keeping the larger ones open where people want to be when they are seriously ill anyway. "We can not afford 22 hospitals in this province," he said. Trevor Holder, a Progressive Conservative MLA for Saint John who was in the back of the room, said the budget is due out in less than two weeks, so it didn't seem credible that the input from this meeting was going to have much impact on the final product.
Govind Rao

New debate needed on Canada-EU trade deal | - 0 views

www.hilltimes.com/...53463

from heather trade international

shared by Govind Rao on 10 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • It is time for Canada to lead in re-evaluating what type of trade agreements are needed for this century.
  • By HOWARD MANN PUBLISHED : Wednesday, March 9, 2016
  • While the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) text was in long-term legal scrub, it had taken a back seat to discussions over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) concluded by the Conservative government during the last election campaign. The TPP has attracted vocal opposition from very diverse sources in Canada, including major innovators, labour unions and organizations focused on achieving sustainable development. With the release now of the final CETA text—the trade agreement between Canada and the EU—new debate is needed on it as well.
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  • Included in the statement released by Canada and the EU to mark the end of the legal review was the announcement that the investor-state arbitration model long entrenched in Canada’s international agreements has been replaced by a system that more closely resembles an international court. The new court-like system includes independent judges, an appeals process and, generally, more transparency and predictability. There can be little doubt that this is a significant improvement over the previous arbitration process.
  • Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, after referring to CETA as a gold-plated trade agreement, stated that with these changes, “Our dispute resolution process is brought up in this agreement to the 21st century democratic standards that Canadians demand.” This view begs two questions. First, why have a new international court that can override domestic courts that already meet the democratic expectations of Canadians? Second, does the rest of the agreement also reflect 21st century democratic needs and standards?
  • The investment chapter and its international court will still give foreign investors special rights and remedies to challenge government actions that they see as unfavourable to them. This gives one economic stakeholder a significant legal advantage over all other actors and stakeholders in the economy. It will allow this one class of economic actor to circumvent domestic courts by going directly to an international court whose role is to apply international law to protect their investor rights.
  • The justification for this is that these mechanisms will attract new investors to new places. However, this fails to stand up to empirical evidence developed over the past 10 to 15 years that shows these types of special rights for investors have no impact on investment flows. In short, there is no payoff for governments that put their countries at risk of exposure to international dispute settlement processes that circumvent domestic courts.
  • So do the other provisions of CETA reflect 21st century goals and standards? In both the TPP and CETA, it is the chapters that don’t directly relate to trade that make the agreements ‘comprehensive.’ It is these rules that are becoming increasingly broad and ever more favourable to large economic actors.
  • Let’s take the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) rules, for example, which go farther to favour European drug manufacturers over Canadian manufacturers, and Canada’s health care system, than any previous IPR agreement. There is also the chapter on “Domestic Regulation” that goes farther in limiting government rights to review and regulate new investments in every sector of the economy than any previous treaty has gone. The CETA also features a long list of limitations on government’s ability to maximize the value that Canadians derive from foreign investment, including such future projects as Ontario’s ring of fire for mining.
  • These non-trade chapters will contribute to the ongoing growth of legal and economic inequality of average citizens and small and medium-size businesses compared to the large economic actors. These chapters simply replicate and deepen provisions from 10, 15 and 20 years ago, or more, with no new assessment of their impacts in today’s world, on climate change responses, or on the needs of sustainable development.
  • The UN Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 provide a framework to realign the goals of trade and economic agreements for the future rather than just replicate the measures of the past, measures that continue to work against sustainable development needs. With the growing concerns over TPP, the inconsistent approaches between TPP and CETA on key democratic principles, and the obvious need to prioritize climate responses over trade policy, it is time for Canada to lead in re-evaluating what type of trade agreements are needed for this century.
  • Canada now has a unique opportunity to step back, reflect, and then return to lead global trade-law into a sustainable development era.
  • Howard Mann is the senior international law adviser with the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Govind Rao

North Bay suffering because of Liberal austerity agenda: CUPE Ontario president - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|245142|nxbg|20151212|235740323

from heather cupe Ontario rural hospital cuts

shared by Govind Rao on 15 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • Financial Buzz Sat Dec 12 2015
  • NORTH BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec 12, 2015) - From hospital service cuts to workers locked out at Ontario Northland, skyrocketing hydro rates and a loss of good manufacturing jobs, North Bay is feeling the full force of the Liberal government's austerity agenda, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn told the Unity for Our Community rally today in North Bay
  • "You can't cut your way to prosperity," said Hahn, president of Ontario's largest union. "Cuts to public services are devastating to communities. North Bay is witnessing this first-hand with huge service cuts and mass layoffs at the hospital. But Kathleen Wynne's unflinching support for austerity and privatization is hurting every corner of the community."
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  • Skyrocketing hydro rates are making Ontario less attractive to manufacturers, making it harder to replace the good jobs being lost at Bombardier or Ontario Northland, he said.
  • "Hydro rates started going up after Mike Harris and the Conservatives started privatizing generation, and they shot up with the Liberals' private energy deals, like the sole-source Samsung contract for wind," he said. "This will get much worse with the sale of Hydro One to private interests. We'll also lose the oversight of public accountability officers like the Auditor General." Hahn was speaking to a crowd of North Bay residents calling on Queen's Park to take action to stop the loss of good jobs and quality public services in their community.
  • The rally organized by the North Bay and District Labour Council, began at the Ontario Northland building, then made its way to City Hall. Speakers included Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff, new Ontario Federation of Labour President Chris Buckley, NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay), NDP MPP John Vanthof (Temiskaming-Cochrane) and Sharon Richer, vice-president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions
  • "It's Kathleen Wynne listened to Ontarians. Almost 85 percent of the public and 194 municipalities oppose the Hydro One sell-off," said Hahn. "The Liberals need to listen to the people, not to Bay Street. We need quality public services and good jobs in our communities. We need at-cost, not-for-profit electricity. We need profitable corporations to pay their fair share so working-class people don't pay any more for disastrous Liberal austerity and privatization schemes."
  • CUPE is Ontario's community union, with more than 250,000 members providing quality public services we all rely on, in every part of the province, every day. CUPE Ontario members are proud to work in social services, health care, municipalities, school boards, universities and airlines.
Govind Rao

At last, a champion for Ontario patients - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246471|tost|20151213|235755764

from heather ombudsperson Ontario

shared by Govind Rao on 15 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • Toronto Star Sun Dec 13 2015
  • When it comes to power and influence in health-care circles, doctors rank first, hospitals second, government bureaucrats third and nurses fourth. Far down the list are patients and caregivers. At last, though, that's about to start changing in Ontario.
  • In a welcome and long-overdue move, Health Minister Eric Hoskins has appointed Christine Elliott, the former Conservative deputy leader, as Ontario's first patient ombudsman. Her main role will be to act as a powerful champion for patients, giving a voice to people who feel the health-care system has failed them. Elliott is a good choice for the job and the Liberal government deserves praise for creating the post. But there is still more that Queen's Park can do to ensure that patients' concerns, needs and input are given true consideration when it comes to helping shape health care in the years ahead.
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  • For decades, the Ontario health-care system has been planned, operated and overseen by doctors, hospital administrators, health ministry bureaucrats and executives in agencies such as the Local Health Integration Networks and Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) responsible for home care. What's been missing is the voice of patients and caregivers. That's inexcusable, given that some 400,000 people are employed in the Ontario health system and several million patients are treated in hospitals, at home and in community settings each year.
  • Until now, those patients have had few places to turn when they ran into roadblocks in the system, or have been frustrated trying to find their way through the layers of bureaucracy and in getting anyone in authority to deal with their issues. As health ombudsman, Elliott is to work with patients and caregivers to resolve complaints about their health-care experience. She will also investigate health-sector organizations on her own initiative, make recommendations for improvements and make annual reports to the minister.
  • Although her five-year appointment doesn't come into effect officially until July 1, 2016, she will start preliminary work on recruiting a staff of 12-15 people early next year. She will earn about $220,000 a year. Elliott quit provincial politics in August, three months after losing the Tory leadership race to Patrick Brown. Hoskins said Elliott was chosen from more than 400 candidates. Her "advocacy for vulnerable people, extensive knowledge of the health-care system and commitment to the betterment of this province make her the perfect choice for Ontario's first patient ombudsman," he said. While some people question the ombudsman's independence because the post reports to the minister, patient advocate groups are delighted with Elliott's appointment, suggesting she will be taken seriously at Queen's Park. As an MPP, she fought for better treatment for stroke victims and people with disabilities, and was a driving force behind a legislative committee's push for the auditor general to review the operations of the troubled CCACs.
  • There is much to be done in alerting the public and the minister to where patients fall through the cracks and get bad outcomes," says Michael Decter, a former Ontario deputy health minister and chair of Patients Canada, a national advocacy group. "For example, transitions from hospital to home are a major area of problems for patients." As encouraging as this move is, there is still more the government can do to give patients a true voice in health care. One suggestion circulating in the upper levels of the health ministry is to appoint an assistant deputy minister for patient experience. The proposal was first revealed in a blog by Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda on TVO.
  • The health ministry now has 16 assistant deputy ministers or their equivalents. Their areas of responsibilities range from provider agencies to doctors and pharmaceuticals. Although they may not realize, such bureaucrats can sometimes get captured by and become advocates for those interests over time. None of them, however, have prime responsibility for patients. That means there is no voice for patients or caregivers around the table when the top bureaucrats meet to formulate future policies and procedures or to assess how existing programs are working. It's a stunning absence, given that many universities, such as the University of Toronto, have created positions in recent years to deal specifically with student experiences.
  • Also, some hospitals have established jobs to deal with patient experience and many private companies have executives assigned to customer care. Naming a health ombudsman is a positive first step in giving patients a voice. Appointing such an assistant deputy minister, though, could be exactly what's needed to shake up the health ministry and focus its attention laser-like on where it should be - the patients and caregivers of Ontario. Bob Hepburn's column appears Sunday. bhepburn@thestar.ca
  • Christine Elliott is a good choice for the position of patient ombudsman, but there is more that Queen's Park can do to ensure that patients' concerns and needs are put first, Bob Hepburn writes.
Govind Rao

U.S. Senate considers demolishing Obama's health care law | CTV News - 0 views

www.ctvnews.ca/...ma-s-health-care-law-1.2684870

from heather us senate legislation medicare

shared by Govind Rao on 03 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • December 3, 2015
  • WASHINGTON -- Republicans are pushing toward Senate approval of legislation demolishing U.S. President Barack Obama's signature health care law and halting Planned Parenthood's federal money, setting up a veto fight the GOP knows it will lose but thinks will delight conservative voters.
Govind Rao

High-paid health bosses brought about own undoing - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246471|tost|20151129|234724337

from heather employer wages Ontario home care

shared by Govind Rao on 01 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • Toronto Star Sun Nov 29 2015
  • When high-flying politicians or senior executives come crashing down to earth it is often because their outrageous spending habits or sky-high salaries have been exposed to the public. That's what happened, for example, to Bev Oda in 2012 when the federal Conservative cabinet minister resigned her seat in the House of Commons after it was revealed she had ordered a $16 glass of orange juice at a London hotel and made taxpayers foot the bill.
  • As first revealed three weeks ago by Toronto Star reporter Theresa Boyle, Health Minister Eric Hoskins is signalling that Queen's Park will scrap the CCACs and transfer much of their duties to the province's 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), which oversee regional health planning. Hoskins will unveil the changes in a "discussion document" to be released in the coming weeks. For years, patients have complained that the $2.5-billion-a-year home-care system was a mess, with too much bureaucracy, a drastic shortage of funds for face-to-face care, mismanagement, lack of oversight, uneven treatment and a culture of fear.
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  • And that's exactly what is happening now with the pending demise of 14 huge Ontario agencies that oversee the delivery of home care to hundreds of thousands of patients each year and employ tens of thousands of workers. The bosses involved are the chief executive officers of the 14 Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) in Ontario. These government agencies, which have been embroiled in controversy for several years, are responsible for co-ordinating access to home and community care services, such as nursing, physiotherapy and personal support workers.
  • Even more revealing was the fact that while the CCAC bosses were getting massive pay raises, many of the therapists, personal support workers and nurses who actually provide care to patients were earning less than $25,000 a year and hadn't seen a pay raise in years. Other managers in the CCAC system also earn huge salaries. One vice-president of strategy, communications and engagement earned $193,000 in 2014. In the Toronto Central CCAC, there were 45 employees earning more than $100,000 in 2014. In the Ontario Association of CCACs (OACCAC), there were 37 employees earning more than $100,000 with the executive director earning close to $300,000.
  • Politicians and bureaucrats at Queen's Park, however, regularly dismissed the complaints and did little to fix the broken system. Indeed, under former health minister Deb Matthews, the CCAC bosses were never really challenged to improve their operations. Some were openly hostile, arrogant and aggressive, operating with a sense of entitlement that saw them run their agencies as they saw fit. But as happened to Oda, the heady days for the CCAC executives came to a sudden halt when their skyrocketing salaries and stunning pay raises were revealed. In some cases, CCAC bosses were paid raises topping $65,000 a year, with salaries over $300,000. Others saw their pay jump by more than 50 per cent over three years.
  • Worse was the fact that the CCAC executives were also ordering their staff, most of whom cared deeply about and worked hard to deliver good care, to trim patient services such as the number of visits to patients by front-line health workers in order to meet their budgets. Suddenly, politicians at Queen's Park took notice.
  • n early 2014 an all-party legislative committee asked auditor general Bonnie Lysyk to conduct a wide inquiry into CCAC operations. Lysyk's report, released in September, described in detail a bloated CCAC system that costs too much money, does nothing very well and where barely 62 cents of every dollar goes to actual direct patient care. For Hoskins, that was the final straw. Now he is about to unleash the biggest change in health-care delivery in Ontario in a generation. Through it all, the CCAC executives were often their own worst enemies.
  • Instead of explaining why they deserved huge salaries, they became aggressive, hiring expensive lobbyists and public relations experts to promote their agencies, denouncing journalists and critics who raised legitimate concerns about the system, and misleading their own staffers on how their operations were faring or what the future might hold for them. When news first surfaced that Hoskins was planning to dismantle the CCACs, the executives denied any real moves were coming and that their futures were in jeopardy. Some CCAC bosses went so far as to tell their staff that the Star's articles about the pending demise of the CCACs were "inaccurate."
  • In recent days, though, the CCACs have gone silent as they come to grips with the realization that their jobs and agencies are likely doomed. Hoskins is not waiting to start the transformation, but his initial timetable for dismantling the CCACs has proven to be problematic. Hoskins originally wanted the LHINs to start assuming some CCAC roles, such as responsibility for front-line staff, as early as three months from now. But sources say these timelines keep being blown up because the LHINs are not yet ready to take on increased duties.
  • Still, Hoskins is planning to press ahead. He will get more ammunition on Dec. 2 for the home-care transformation when Lysyk releases the second part of her inquiry into CCACs. For patients waiting for needed treatment and who have tangled with the CCAC bureaucracy and bosses in the past, the changes can't come soon enough. Bob Hepburn's column appears Sunday. bhepburn@thestar.ca
Govind Rao

What will Trudeau's promised Canada Health Accord look like? | The Council of Canadians - 0 views

canadians.org/...ised-canada-health-accord-look

from heather accord coc

shared by Govind Rao on 26 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • October 24, 2015
  • It would appear that a Canada Health Accord is back on the table with incoming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. One of the key promises in the Liberal platform this election stated, "We will negotiate a new Health Accord with provinces and territories, including a long-term agreement on funding." Today, the Globe and Mail reports, "After almost a decade of Stephen Harper’s Conservatives insisting, dogmatically, that health is strictly a provincial jurisdiction, the biggest change in Ottawa will be philosophical or cultural – the arrival of a government that believes Ottawa has a key leadership role to play in health care."
Govind Rao

WIN! Voter turnout up by 3 million voters | The Council of Canadians - 0 views

canadians.org/...voter-turnout-3-million-voters

from heather federal election coc

shared by Govind Rao on 21 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • October 20, 2015
  • Five months ago, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow stated, "If we can get the issues out and get more people voting, we can get rid of Harper." Today, the Harper government has been soundly defeated having lost 67 seats (including numerous high-profile cabinet ministers) last night. And Stephen Harper has announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative party. A key part of this outcome was that about 3 million more people voted in this election than in the May 2011 election.
Govind Rao

Medical tourism costs Alberta health system $560K per year, study finds - Calgary - CBC... - 0 views

www.cbc.ca/...niversity-of-alberta-1.3492688

from heather Alberta privatization medical tourism

shared by Govind Rao on 21 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • Estimate is conservative and doesn't account for long-term care or hospital stays, researcher says
  • Mar 15, 2016
  • Dr. Shahzeer Karmali said Alberta's health system is spending more than $560,000 annually to correct botched bariatric surgeries performed abroad.
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  • As flashy weight-loss ads for medical surgeries continue to draw Albertans to Mexico and abroad, a new study says the costs of fixing some of the bungled procedures costs Alberta's health system more than half a million dollars each year.
Govind Rao

Selinger: health-care is a 'sacred cow' | News | Manitoba Votes | More | Winnipe - 0 views

www.winnipegsun.com/...er-health-care-is-a-sacred-cow

from heather Manitoba election

shared by Govind Rao on 21 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • By Jim Bender, Winnipeg Sun First posted: Sunday, March 20, 2016
  • Premier Greg Selinger believes there are many “sacred cows” that should not be cut or killed in Manitoba. Earlier this week, Progressive Conservative leader Brian Pallister said “there are no sacred cows” when it comes time to reduce costs if he is elected to be the new premier on April 19.
Govind Rao

Health-care system flaws hindering Ontario's response to fentanyl crisis - The Globe an... - 0 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article29582102

from heather drugs corporation doctors public health emerg

shared by Govind Rao on 12 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • Apr. 10, 2016
  • This story is part of A Killer High: A Globe examination into the rise of fentanyl in Canada.A surge in overdose deaths in Ontario linked to illicit fentanyl is exposing gaps at every level of the health-care system, leaving front-line workers who are responsible for monitoring drug use ill-equipped to respond to the crisis.
  • A Globe and Mail investigation found that neither Ottawa nor the provinces are taking adequate steps to stop doctors from indiscriminately prescribing highly addictive opioids to treat chronic pain – in 2015 alone, doctors wrote enough prescriptions for one in every two Canadians. And addiction-treatment programs are few and far between – a legacy, in part, of the former Conservative government’s tough-on-crime policies.
Heather Farrow

A broad coalition against austerity in Newfoundland | rabble.ca - 0 views

rabble.ca/...against-austerity-newfoundland

nl budget coalition cuts

shared by Heather Farrow on 26 Aug 16 - No Cached
  • By Scott Neigh | August 24, 2016
  • On this week's episode of Talking Radical Radio, Scott Neigh speaks with Mary Shortall, Jim Dinn, and Sara Langer. They are all members of Common Front NL, a broad coalition that has formed to oppose the drastic austerity measures being implemented by the provincial government in Newfoundland and Labrador. According to today's guests, there isn't a lot of precedent, at least in recent decades, for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador rising up in significant numbers to oppose the policies of their provincial government. But late last year, a provincial Conservative government that had been in power for many years was decisively defeated, and a large Liberal majority swept into office. Though their platform did not call for cuts and privatization -- that is, for austerity -- the introduction of their first budget in the context of a major economic downturn made decisive moves in that direction, with the possibility of even more drastic cuts in a second budget slated for late in 2016. The cut that made the news most widely outside of Newfoundland would've resulted in the closure of many, many public libraries, and that has (at least for the moment) been rescinded, but as today's guests discuss, the vast majority of cuts are still happening, and people's lives are being impacted in a wide range of ways.
healthcare88

Provinces urge rethink on health cuts; Halving funding increases would cost Ontario $40... - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|242663|tost|20161018|258577008

accord

shared by healthcare88 on 18 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Toronto Star Tue Oct 18 2016
  • Canada's medicare system will be shortchanged $1 billion next year unless the federal government reverses plans to cut funding increases in half, provincial and territorial health ministers warned Monday. Forming a common front before a Tuesday meeting with their federal counterpart Jane Philpott, the ministers urged the new Liberal administration in Ottawa not to chop transfer payment hikes to 3 per cent from 6 per cent starting in 2017. Following through with the cut - a unilateral decision by the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper in 2011 - would mean $400 million less for Ontario and be a "huge blow" to patients, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins told a news conference.
  • An increase of just 3 per cent in annual transfer payments from the federal government "simply isn't sufficient to keep the lights on" in terms of maintaining the level of health care, he said. Over the next 10 years, the cut means Ottawa would be spending $60 billion less on health care - money the provinces will have to make up if they hope to maintain current level of services, the provincial ministers said in a statement. They called for the prime minister to suspend the cuts until he can meet with premiers and territorial leaders to reach a new agreement.
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  • Meanwhile, Philpott has promised to spend $3 billion extra on home care and palliative care over the next four years, helping provinces with those costs as the population ages. Hoskins said the provinces and territories, on average, now cover 80 per cent of costs in the health-care system.
healthcare88

Provinces, Ottawa spar over health transfers; Ontario warns cuts will lead to 'declinin... - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|242663|tost|20161019|258655577

accord

shared by healthcare88 on 19 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Toronto Star Wed Oct 19 2016
  • Provincial and territorial health ministers are imploring Ottawa not to diminish its role as a funding partner in health care any further. Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who co-chaired a meeting of his counterparts from across the country on Tuesday, said funding from Ottawa will be "inadequate" if the federal government proceeds with its plans to cut the annual increase in health transfers next year.
  • "(It) will result in a declining partnership," he told a news conference at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto. "What we are asking as provinces and territories is that the federal government ... not withdraw further, that we want them to sustain the level of partnership that traditionally has been there," he said. Canadians have seen that partnership "very seriously erode" since medicare was created about a half century ago when the federal government footed half the bill, Hoskins said. Today, Ottawa is paying only 20 per cent of the tab, a share that will decrease further if Ottawa next year cuts the annual increase in the Canada Health Transfer to 3 per cent from 6 per cent.
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  • Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott, who co-chaired Tuesday's talks, tried to steer the conversation away from money and toward system improvement, innovation and accountability. She repeatedly pointed out that Canada spends more on health care than many other developed countries that have superior health systems. She expressed disappointment that planned system improvements that Ottawa funded in the 2004 health accord did not materialize. Philpott indicated that she wants new funds to be targeted to such areas as mental health and system innovation. She also reiterated an earlier commitment to provide $3 billion for home care, including palliative care.
  • I have made it clear to them that we would love, for instance, to invest in innovation," she said. "I want to know how they want to use those investments in innovation. I have told them that I am very interested in mental-health care." Hoskins said his provincial and federal counterparts are on board with that, but that they need a boost in the annual increase in health funding as well just to maintain the status quo. "You can transform and we have to transform, but you have to do that in a way which respects and understands that you need to sustain the existing system," he said. Hoskins cited a Conference Board of Canada report that found that a spending increase of 4.4 per cent is needed "just to keep the lights on, just to keep the existing services working" because of pressures from a growing and aging population. Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette said Ottawa's current plans for health spending will amount to $60 billion less over the next decade for the provinces and territories.
  • "It says to Canadians, 'We will not provide up to the level of $60 billion.' That's what's at stake," he said. The 2004 health accord - which includes annual funding hikes of 6 per cent - expires next spring. The former Conservative government decided unilaterally that annual health spending will increase at a lower rate of 3 per cent after that. The provincial and territorial ministers are hoping Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will reconsider that when the first ministers meet later this year. Hoskins said a 50-per-cent cut in the annual funding increase will translate to $1 billion less for the provinces and territories next year. Ontario alone stands to lose $400 million. Philpott apologized about confusion over comments she made earlier on accountability for funds. Some provincial and territorial ministers expressed anger over an insinuation that health transfers were not being spent on health. Philpott said that was not what she meant.
  • I apologize if people misunderstood," she said. "There is certainly no intention to make accusations." Philpott said the Canada Health Transfer, which stands at $36 billion, will increase by about $19 billion over the next five years. "It's really important for Canadians to know that we are going to continue to contribute to the Canada Heath Transfer," the federal minister said. Philpott said that over the last five years, $9 of every new $10 spent on health in Canada came from the Canada Health Transfer. "We are contributing he largest part to spending." In addition to the Canada Health Transfer, extra funds will be provided for targeted priorities with strings attached to ensure transformation goals are met, she said.
  • This is Canadians' money ... We want to find a way that we can work together so that as we agree to make new investments, that we have already got a sense of plan," Philpott said. In elaborating on why Ottawa should fund new, more efficient ways of providing health care while at the same time provide sufficient funding for the current health system, Hoskins offered the example of dialysis for kidney failure. The ministers discussed how it would make more sense to monitor blood pressure to prevent kidney failure and thereby lessen the need for dialysis, he noted. "That's great and we are all working toward that end, but you still have to provide dialysis today because that individual who needs it will be dead in three weeks without it," Hoskins said.
healthcare88

Funds would come with conditions: feds - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|242663|wifp|20161019|258654570

accord

shared by healthcare88 on 19 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Winnipeg Free Press Wed Oct 19 2016
  • OTTAWA - Provinces may get additional money for health care but only for specific initiatives such as home care or mental health, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott signalled at the end of a meeting with her provincial counterparts in Toronto. The tensions from the meeting spilled into the post-event news conference, as provincial ministers talked about federal cuts to health care and Philpott fought back, saying provinces never delivered promised health-care innovations when the 10-year health accord was signed in September 2004. That accord guaranteed six per cent annual increases in health care for a decade, and that formula was extended for two more years. The provinces argue Ottawa's plan to cut the annual increase in health transfers to the provinces from six per cent to three per cent will result in $60 billion less in federal cash going to the provinces over the next 10 years. They call that a "cut" to health care. "We are being asked to do more with less," said Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette.
  • "All provinces and territories will have to make difficult choices." Philpott disagreed with his assessment. "There will be no cuts," she said. "There will be increases." Canada transferred $36.1 billion to the provinces for health care this year. A six per cent increase next year would be $2.2 billion more. The previous Conservative federal government announced intentions to reduce the increase in health transfers to three per cent, and the Liberals have taken up that plan. Additional funds will be available for health care but in targeted ways, such as for home care or mental health. During the election, the Liberals promised to spend $3 billion on home care over four years, money that has yet to materialize. "Canadians want to see their health-care system get better," said Philpott. Developing a new multi-year health accord with the provinces was the first task assigned to Philpott in her mandate letter in November 2015. Philpott said when the previous accord was signed, it put a lot of money on the table and it was negotiated in good faith by all parties involved that "there would be the changes that needed to take place."
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  • Those changes included cutting wait times, improving home care, electronic records and telehealth, better access to care in the North, a national pharmaceuticals strategy, improvements in prevention in public health and accountability and better reporting to Canadians. Philpott's assessment Tuesday was the provinces had intended to live up to their commitments but that it hadn't happened. "The transformation to the system didn't follow," she said. Philpott said Canadians want to be able to measure where new money is going, such as the number of hours of therapy delivered in a mental health program or the number of additional home care visits added. Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said in a later conference call he agrees there needs to be more reform and innovation, particularly when it comes to accountability and meeting specific performance targets. "I would take exception that there hasn't been any innovation," he said. "Could there have been more? Sure."
  • Goertzen said Manitoba will be announcing more health-care targets shortly, with plans to better account for the dollars spent. He said additional funding for home care or mental health would be welcome but Ottawa needs to be a better partner on the day-to-day business of health-care delivery, and the three per cent increase isn't enough. The provinces have long complained Ottawa was to contribute half the cost of medicare but its contribution is now around one-fifth. They want the accord to move Ottawa to contributing 25 per cent. "We didn't get that commitment today," said Goertzen. The provinces want to discuss the health accord with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when they all meet in Ottawa in December. Trudeau called that meeting to discuss climate change and the new carbon price he is requiring all provinces to impose. Health care is not currently on the agenda. mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
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