WILL WE REALLY PROTECT MEDICARE

Will we really protect Medicare? We not only need to protect Medicare but also find ways to enhance it and make it sustainable. Adrienne Silnicki, Council of Canadians, reporting in the  Halifax Chronicle Herald on March 14, 2012 states that this may not be possible if the federal government does not take on its leadership responsibilities. A statement made by Prime Minister Harper recently that health care is a "provincial responsibility" is not true because the federal and provincial governments both have responsibilities "to play in protecting and strengthening universal health care". What is required is leadership from the federal government to ensure that the funding is maintained through the Canada Health Transfer and that the provinces follow the principles of the health act namely: public administration; universality; portability; comprehensiveness; and accessibility. These principles, if maintained, protect universal health care for Canadians.

Ms. Silnicki concludes: "We need a federal government that can look at the best science-based practices being implemented in provinces and territories and tie funding to encourage other provinces and territories to adopt these practices. We need a federal government that can act as a single-purchaser and negotiate with drug companies and save us $10.7 billion a year by implementing a universal pharmacare plan. And we need a federal government that is committed to strengthening the Canada Health Act and bring it into the 21st century with innovations such as team-based practices and better management of chronic care patients by expanding home care, community care and long-term care".

See the article at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/73368-spur-provinces-be-innovation-incubators