While
the Harper Conservative government has pushed ahead with its Comprehensive
Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, the Ontario Liberal
government has failed to protect public health care.
Under
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) protection for public health
care was initially supposed to be provided through the Annex II Social Services
Reservations. Annex II protects social
services “maintained for a public purpose”.
Unfortunately,
the meaning of “public purpose” is disputed and the provision may not provide
protection where there is private sector involvement in health care.
To
clarify that health services delivered as public services are excluded from
NAFTA, the parties negotiated a general reservation in 1996. This addition to NAFTA's Annex I meant that
services provided by provinces since 1994 would be excluded from NAFTA liberalization.
With
CETA, however, general reservations like those seen in Annex I under NAFTA
for public services are not included. Instead, the provinces must name the specific services that they want excluded from the liberalization ratchet that locks-in privatization.
for public services are not included. Instead, the provinces must name the specific services that they want excluded from the liberalization ratchet that locks-in privatization.
This
means that we will be left only with the weaker protection of public health
care provided by Annex II, including its lack of clarity over the meaning of
“public purpose”.
Worse,
the Ontario government is moving more public health care services to private,
for-profit delivery through public private partnerships, private surgical and
diagnostic clinics, and by underfunding public health care services and leaving
more care to private purchase (for those who can afford it). As a result the separation of public and
private care has become much less clear, making the protection provided by
Annex II more uncertain.
Impact
on drug costs
The
trade deal will increase the cost of pharmaceutical drugs by delaying the
release
of generic drugs. Current estimates place this extra cost to the public at $2.8 billion per year. Notably, while drug costs have sky-rocketed since the 1990s, significant relief has been provided in the last several years by new generic drugs becoming available.
of generic drugs. Current estimates place this extra cost to the public at $2.8 billion per year. Notably, while drug costs have sky-rocketed since the 1990s, significant relief has been provided in the last several years by new generic drugs becoming available.
Expansion
of Medicare threatened
CETA
allows private corporations to bring charges against the public through
international commercial tribunals if public health care is expanded in some
way, e.g.
if government establishes a universal and comprehensive public drug plan, or even
just brings a privatized health service back into the public sector. This will stymie, or,
at best, add extra costs to efforts to effectively reform our health care system.
if government establishes a universal and comprehensive public drug plan, or even
just brings a privatized health service back into the public sector. This will stymie, or,
at best, add extra costs to efforts to effectively reform our health care system.
What
needs to be done
Trade agreements negotiated by Conservative governments have
strengthened corporate power at the expense of the democratic control of
working people. Since such deals began
in the 1980s, the bargaining power of working people has diminished and
inequality has increased, here and in the United States.
As a very
basic minimum, the Ontario Liberal government should at least be
willing
to specifically and explicitly ensure that nothing in CETA shall be construed to apply to measures adopted or maintained by a party with respect to health care or public health insurance.
to specifically and explicitly ensure that nothing in CETA shall be construed to apply to measures adopted or maintained by a party with respect to health care or public health insurance.
Hey,I highly appreciate your writing.I'd like to share little point with you.My thought is this: healthcare really ins't a traditional market commodity in the sense that I Phones or cars or massage services are it doesn't correspond to supply and demand in the same way, this is corroborated by the fact that although Private Healthcare advocates always tell us competition will lower prices and improve quality, private healthcare coasts have only risen in the last decades. not only this but people having healthcare is of such national importance that treating it as another marketable good seems like a inadequate and frankly wrongheaded approach.Thank you so much!!!
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medical device consultant