Your monthly update from the BC Health Coalition
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Your April 2023 monthly update from
the
BC Health Coalition
UPDATE
Supreme Court of Canada dismissal is a win for public health in BC and nationally
Access to quality health care is a fundamental right that should not be determined by one's ability to pay. And yet, 14 years ago, the CEO of a BC-based for-profit clinic launched a legal battle that aimed to dismantle key protections in the BC Medicare Protection Act ensuring equitable access to care. On April 6, 2023, that battle came to a close when the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision to dismiss Cambie Surgeries Corporation's application for leave to appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada's dismissal upholds the decisions at the BC Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeal that... protected key principles of the BC Medicare Protection Act that ensure patients are prioritized based on medical need and not ability to pay. Read more HERE.
ACTION
Join a Pharmacare Town Hall Near You
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government committed to passing a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023. Sky-high drug prices are taking billions from our hospitals, at a time when we need to massively re-invest to save public health care. At the same time, inflation is forcing millions to choose between paying the rent, buying groceries, or filling their prescriptions. A publicly-funded, universal drug coverage program – also known as pharmacare – could change this. To raise the political temperature on pharmacare, the Council of Canadians and allies are organizing town halls across Canada. You can search for a town hall happening near you HERE.
REPORT
Accessing health services not covered by MSP: A resource guide for
BC Seniors.
The Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver published a new resource guide that provides information about financial benefits seniors are entitled to and tips on how to access some extended health needs. In BC, the Medical Services Plan specifically excludes coverage of dental, vision, hearing, and other services such as physio, massage, podiatry and assistive devises. As a result, many seniors do not receive necessary care and are subject to high out-of-pocket costs. This guide from JSA helps seniors understand what is available and how to access uninsured services such as vision, dental, and other assistive care. Read more HERE.
Public Health News, Updates & Resources
National survey highlights worsening primary care access The OurCare initiative surveyed people across Canada about their access to primary care. More than one in five Canadians do not have access to family physician or nurse practitioner. Respondents expressed that the relationship with their practitioner mattered the most and strongly opposed virtual care services owned by for-profit companies, pharmaceutical companies, or companies that sold their deidentified health data.
One third of B.C.'s health care workers willing to quit in next two years: poll In the Hospital Employee Union poll, health care workers expressed the lack of adequate mental health supports and experiences of burnout and financial stress. "If we want our health care system to survive and thrive in the face of public health emergencies...we must act boldly to retain today’s skilled and experienced health care workforce".
Western Canada’s experience with for-profit surgery clinics offers a cautionary tale for Ontario For-profit centres worsen staff shortages, cost more and provide lower quality. More two-tier health care, with patients paying out of pocket for publicly insured care, has been a consequence of the for-profit sector’s growth in British Columbia.
Team-based care key to alleviating primary-care crisis In addition to providing patients with access to health professionals with complementary expertise, research has demonstrated that team-based primary care can improve health outcomes as well as clinicians’ joy in work. Yet, despite this recognition, expansion of team-based care across Canada has been heterogenous, staggered and slow.
In Depth: B.C. can't privatize its way out of long surgical waits, Supreme Court says. What now? Canada's highest court said it would not hear Dr. Brian Day's appeal challenging B.C.'s key limits on private health care, ending his 14-year legal fight. Experts have long feared a Day victory would have formalized a two-tier health-care system where wealthy patients could pay to jump long surgical queues.
B.C. rebuffs Canadian Blood Services (CBS), will not allow private company to collect blood plasma The National Union of Public and General Employees, which represents the majority of CBS workers, said it supported B.C.’s decision because allowing a private company to pay donors in the province “will undermine our voluntary blood and plasma system.”
Solutions series: Policy barriers and solutions to surgical wait times in Canada Andrew Longhurst, health policy researcher and political economist at Simon Fraser University, presents an 11-part series on ways to reduce surgical wait times in Canada.
Northern Health patients to benefit from sustained surgical capacity Northern Health is taking on surgical operations at the Prince George Surgery Centre where people requiring low-complexity procedures can receive care. This will allow other hospitals to prioritize capacity for more complex surgeries. Increasing surgical capacity in the public system will increase access to care for people in the North, while strengthening our public health-care system.
BC Workers are Being Forced Into Mandatory Drug Testing and Private ‘Recovery’ Programs Workers in British Columbia who seek help with substance related challenges say they were forced into an archaic system of mandated abstinence-only treatment and costly monitoring agreements in order to keep their jobs.
Donate nowDonations by cheque can be made out to BC Health Coalition and mailed to BC Health Coalition 302-3102 Main Street Vancouver BC V5T 3G7. Or you can give monthly by cheque.
British
Columbia Health Coalition
3102 Main St, 302, Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish
Territories, BC V5T 3G7, Canada
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