Outsourcing to private clinics
Visit: https://policyalternatives.ca/corporate-medicine
Private for-profit surgeries and medical imaging are big business in BC and taxpayers are funding them. Over the last six years, the BC government has subsidized for-profit providers through millions of dollars in contracts which, in the long-term, degrades our public health care system through the draining of workforce and capital to the private sector. The BC Health Coalition and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have jointly published a report that looks into this concerning trend. Read more HERE.
Member Action
BCHC postcard action underway!
This week, hundreds of seniors, families, and workers are calling on Minister Dix to improve and expand publicly funded home support and end for-profit long-term care through our postcard action.
This is a friendly reminder that if you requested a postcard to please write your story and send it to Minister Dix if you haven’t already.
Your voice is powerful so let’s join together in demanding #BetterCareForSeniors!
Opinion
BC needs to wind down contracting out of surgical and diagnostic procedures to for-profit clinics | by Andy Longhurst
Private surgeries and medical imaging are big business in BC. Over the last two decades, this for-profit sector has benefited from increased outsourcing of publicly funded procedures and unlawful patient extra-billing.
These private businesses are flourishing in part because the BC government has been awarding them millions of dollars in contracts to provide services while not holding them legally accountable for unlawful billing practices that are prohibited under the Canada Health Act and BC Medicare Protection Act. Read more HERE.
Public Health News, Updates & Resources
The free market is no solution to sky-high drug prices It’s time to get ideology out of this debate and focus on what really matters, the amount of money that Canadians, especially poor and marginalized ones, are paying for the drugs that they need to keep themselves healthy.
Concerns a ‘vicious cycle’ underway as private companies increasingly staffing B.C. hospitals As B.C.’s hospitals falter under the burden of staff resignations and illness, sources say private companies are quietly filling the gaps with growing numbers of well-compensated nurses with an unclear price tag.
‘It’s like a renoviction from a doctor’: Victoria doctor’s monthly retainer raises questions of two-tier healthcare “It’s upsetting because I really believe in a healthcare system that is available to all. And this, to me, is the way that we move towards a two-tier system, where you’re rationing the delivery of health care. Anyone who can’t pay—too bad, you are second-class”
New Nelson Health Campus should not be built by a private corporation “I am appalled that the Columbia Basin Trust, a taxpayer owned and funded Crown Corporation, is using my tax dollars to support this wealthy private corporation. Interior Heath is planning to spend seven and a half million yearly, to lease just this one facility from the same wealthy private corporation. There are eight others.”
Consultation on Ageism The Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors has launched a consultation on ageism. They are looking to better understand and address the negative impacts of ageism towards older adults in Canada including health impacts.
Ensure that people with disabilities can access dental services On July 25th, the Minister of Health put out a message about the proposed National Dental Care Program. Right now the government is seeking input from the dentistry industry but that’s not right! People with disabilities must also be consulted and consulted first. They are the ones who can advise on what the dentists need in their offices so that dental services can be accessed by all. Tell the Minister of Health what access to proper dental care really means, send a letter