Defend Public Healthcare

This is what we have to look forward to if we allow more American-style private insurance of health care: This chart comparing US public Medicare insurance costs with US private insurance costs is taken from the blog for the New York Times by nobel prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. His conclusion: If Medicare costs had risen as fast as private insurance premiums, it would cost around 40 percent more than it does. If private insurers had done as well as Medicare at controlling costs, insurance would be a lot cheaper. It’s a mystery why anyone claims that shifting more people into private insurance is a good idea. Actually, no, it isn’t a mystery; it’s an outrage. Nevertheless, we are bound to hear more from Canadian advocates of  privatization (and the private insurance corporations).  

The Ontario Ombudsman had some harsh words for the for-profit patient transfer industry Friday.  Ontario residents would be better off taking a taxi to a hospital than one of the privately owned vehicles used to transfer hundreds of thousands of non-critical patients each year, provincial watchdog Andre Marin   told the Canadian Press . The ombudsman said he was "blown away'' by the stories he heard while investigating non-emergency medical transfers, an industry that CP says is regulated in all provinces except Ontario. It's allowed private companies to charge hundreds of dollars per patient for transports in old, beat-up ambulances operated by ``kids'' with no medical training, he said. "They place people's lives in serious jeopardy,'' Marin said. "These vehicles - that for all intents and purposes are ambulances - are completely without any rules,'' Marin said. "It's astounding.'' Most patient transf

Yesterday, the Liberal government proposed to regulate non-emergency patient transfers via legislation. However, as the legislature has stopped sitting and will not sit until after the fall election, the proposal  may be moot.  In recent years, patient transfers have been moved from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to patient transfer operations.  While EMS is largely provided by not-for-profit public organizations, patient transfer operations are often run by for-profit businesses.  These businesses generally make their trucks looks like ambulances and the public often thinks they are ambulances.  There is little if any regulation of these businesses, and that sparked an unfavorable report from CBC radio on the sub-sector as well as comment from the Ombudsman.  The government is only promising to set ' core standards ' for non-emergency patient transfers between health care facilities, so even if passed, it sounds like the government is limiting expectations regarding how mu

There is already significant concern about the impact on the economy of the $20 billion in annual cuts proposed by the Harper government. These may well be compounded by the cuts that Tim Hudak and the Ontario Progressive Conservatives are proposing.  The Deficit is making them do it, or so their story goes.  (More careful observers might note that this policy prescription echoes the program demanded by big business around the world for years.) So it's interesting to see what is happening in Europe, where dramatic public sector cuts have been ongoing for several years --also as a response to government deficits.  Greece has been at the forefront (so to speak) of this policy and the results ain't pretty. Far from reviving the economy, these cuts have led Greece to three years of recession and successive rounds of new cuts.  Yet another round of cuts was approved by the Greek cabinet  yesterday. Almost every economic indicator is going in the wrong direction,

Dr. David McKeown, the Toronto Medical Officer of Health has proposed that the provincial government make flu shots for health care workers if vaccination rates do not increase. The Toronto Star reports that in 2010-11, 42% of acute care hospital workers got a flu shot, short of the 70% targeted.  A higher percentage of long term care workers were reported to have had the shot -- 57%.  The Star has joined Dr. McKeown's call.

Concern that public private partnerships (P3)  disadvantage Canadian business was deepened with the announcement  that a new massive P3 hospital project in Montreal will see foreign corporations play the dominant role.  Here is the comment from (the long-time privatization booster), the National Post:   'We are talking about very limited Canadian ownership. There are four equity partners: Innisfree, based in the United Kingdom and one of the largest investors in hospitals around the world, has a 30% stake; Laing O'Rourke Canada Ltd., a U.K.-based construction entity, has a 25% stake; OHL Construction Canada Ltd., a Spanish construction, concessions and services groups that has been around for more than 90 years, has a 25% stake; and Dalkia, a large French company that provides facilities management services to more than 5,000 hospitals around the world, has a 20% stake.' Duncan McCallum, managing director of infrastructure at RBC Capital Markets and lead manager on t

Ontario's health minister says she's  concerned  that there's still no commitment in yesterday's federal budget about long-term funding for health care, the Canadian Press reports .   Deb Matthews  says the budget was a missed opportunity for the Conservatives to signal that they're willing to hammer out a new 10-year accord with the provinces. The cash portion of the Canada Health Transfer delivers about $10.7 billion to Ontario for health care every year, covering about 23% of total provincial healthcare spending. With the six percent escalator (and some recent improvements to the funding formula) this has increased funding to Ontario health care by about $700 million per year.  So this is big money - -and without the increases, public health care will be in big trouble.     Under pressure during the election the federal Conservatives promised to continue to increase health-care spending by six per cent (proving the ability of people to put pressure on p