Waiting for better pharmacare legislation could be worth it: NDP
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“Hope is a discipline, not a wish that things will go better,” said Astra Taylor, organizer, filmmaker and writer, in her talk, The Age of Insecurity, for the CBC Ideas Massey Lectures, November, 2023
NDP willing to wait for pharmacare but only if the wait is worth it
“An NDP source told The Globe and Mail that pharmacare conversations are taking place between its health critic, Don Davies, and Health Minister Mark Holland, as well as at the staff level. If the process takes longer than the end of the year and the legislation turns out to be better because of that, it will be worth it, the source said.” – The Globe and Mail, November 26, 2023
Legislation and programming aren’t necessarily one and the same
“The new pharmacare plan would have to replace what the PBO called an existing ‘patchwork of a large number of public drug plans and several more private drug plans, each with its own eligibility criteria, formularies, cost-sharing requirements, and policies on generic and biosimilar substitution’ … So, it could take a while, something NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has acknowledged. The New Democrats have also said that the government’s early offer was a pharmacare program that didn’t cover everyone. A large part of the population already gets pharmaceutical coverage through the aforementioned patchwork of government and private-sector health plans, after all. Bill Morneau made a similar pitch in 2018, though that didn’t stop the Liberals from promising ‘ national universal pharmacare’ in the election that followed,” said Peter Mazereeuw, executive editor of The Hill Times, November 28, 2023
Manitoba premier and health minister embark on health care “listening tour”
“We know that people on the front lines are feeling burn-out and stress and are feeling the challenge of that crisis that you see when you visit an emergency department or the challenges that you see in long-term care facilities or working in the community… “We are there for you, to hear your ideas of how we can help you,” said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew to the Winnipeg Free Press, November 27, 2023
Could associate physicians improve access to health care on PEI?
“What we’re anticipating will happen is when the associate physicians apply there will be consideration given to their specific training and/or experience… We would want to try to partner that associate physician with an appropriate clinical area or program that matches their training and experience,” said PEI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kathie McNally to CBC News, November 23, 2023
Nurses host parliamentary breakfast
“This event will shed light on two critical challenges facing working nurses: the unsustainable and unsafe hours nurses are working, and the rising costs associated with private nursing agencies to address record vacancies… Dr. Joan Almost from Queen’s University will provide an in-depth analysis of the expenditure trends on private agency nurses throughout Canada, highlighting their significant impact on our health care delivery system,” states Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), in iPolitics, November 27, 2023
Quebec nurses have lowest starting salary in Canada
“(A) 24-per-cent increase may seem substantial, but it is to compensate for several years of catching up that we have to do and to help retain nursing staff here in Quebec,” said Natalie Stake-Doucet, assistant professor in the faculty of nursing at the Université de Montréal, to CBC News, November 23, 2023
History repeating itself in Alberta, but why?
“Political history now appears to be the future of health care (in Alberta)… The question remains about whether staff and the system – stressed to the max by the pandemic and still catching up on surgery wait lists – can cope with massive government tinkering, again… Hiring badly needed doctors and nurses in a sea of change is the biggest issue…. We’re not talking about a system that is fatally flawed. Alberta’s overall health administration costs are the lowest amongst the provinces. Consolidated procurement practices meant Alberta had masks to share with others at the height of the pandemic. The electronic medical record system is second to none. Albertans have enviable access to an array of services and specialists,” said Kelly Cryderman, The Globe and Mail, November 27, 2023
Minority health care ‘complicated’ in Quebec reform bill 15
“I don’t think the public grasps the magnitude of this bill. The only other article of law larger than this bill is the Civil Code. . . Wait, take a breath. Can we have a conversation about how your idea and model will be deployed instead of rushing the bill through with closure?” said Jennifer Maccarone, Liberal Member of the National Assembly, to CTV News Montreal, November 28, 2023
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