The Fiscal Sustainability of Canadian Publicly Funded Healthcare Systems and the Policy Response to the Fiscal Gap PDF Download

Author: Livio Di Matteo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781927024218
Category : Medical care
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
The fiscal sustainability of the publicly funded healthcare systems in Canada is a persistent policy issue. Recent estimates by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) put total nominal healthcare spending in Canada in 2010 at $191.6 billion, reflecting an annual nominal growth rate of 5.2% in 2010. Since 1975, real per capita government health spending in Canada has risen at an average annual rate of 2.3%, in excess of the growth in real per capita GDP, government revenues, federal transfers and total government expenditures. With these persistent increases in health expenditures in mind, this study examines the fiscal sustainability of Canada's publicly funded healthcare systems for the period up to 2035.

Author: Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 9780802086174
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
The Fiscal Sustainability of Health Care - the first of a three-volume set of selected papers from the Romanow Commission - comprises the most influential discussion papers on the fiscal sustainability of public health care in the future. The subjects covered include the current and potential cost drivers of the system, the financing and delivery of health care, fiscal federalism, and international trade regimes. While some of the contributors are among Canada's best known and respected figures in the field, others are relatively new scholars from Canada and abroad who bring fresh perspectives and new insights to the issue of fiscal sustainability. Presenting divergent diagnoses and policy prescriptions, the papers collectively highlight the many factors that governments and health care sector managers must confront to keep the Canadian health care system viable in the 21st century.

Author: Will Falk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Health care reform
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description

Author: Howard A. Palley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781604978155
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Canada has a complex health delivery system which is a conglomeration of 13 public plans--10 provincial and three territorial as well as a number of federally administered plans serving special populations such as Aboriginals and Veterans--all providing full coverage for most hospital and physician services as well as partial coverage for many services that vary among plans. The importance of this study is that it examines how the public/private sector relationship in health care delivery--particularly that of the for-profit sector--has developed both historically and in recent years, in three subnational provincial jurisdictions within a federal system. The case study provinces are Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. The study examines both similarities and differences in this development. These provinces are highly distinct in their political culture and political history affecting health care delivery. Ontario and Quebec are Canada's most populous provinces and Alberta is an increasingly populous prairie state. Alberta is unique in its long-time governance of the Progressive Conservative party and its predecessor the Social Credit Party. Ontario has had a more variable political history with periods of Progressive Conservative, New Democratic Party and Liberal leadership and in recent years Quebec governance has shifted between the Parti Qu becois and the Liberal Party. In this study, one dimension that the authors examine are political dispositions to act regarding public/private initiatives in health care delivery and how this affects health care delivery in these provinces. Provincial medical and hospital plans are constrained by the Canada Health Act of 1984. For necessary medical and hospital services, the provinces and territories must adhere to the five principles of the Act in order to receive federal funding. However for other extended health care and health care-related services, there are federal contributions that are not constrained by these principles--although subject to reporting obligations. Another factor providing some flexibility in provincial Medicare plans is that necessary hospital and medical services are not enumerated in the Canada Health Act. This has allowed some "delisting" of services which is discussed in the case studies. In the provincial case studies, the authors examine how the federal/provincial dynamic in the delivery of health care services has worked out in the three provinces, with respect to similarities and differences regarding the involvement of the for-profit sector both within and outside the respective Medicare systems. They also examine how the fiscal setting has affected both political and economic sustainability pressures with respect to inclusion of private commercial initiatives in these three provincial settings. The authors note that these initiatives occur both within and external to Canadian provincial Medicare systems and that there is a need to see that such initiatives are held publicly accountability to meet equity and access goals. The study utilizes government documents, press reports and personal interviews to draw a picture of health delivery developments within the Canadian federal context. This study adds to the comparative health policy literature by applying a comparative approach to subnational provincial cases. It is also noteworthy to note that globally, many nations' health insurance plans incorporate a mixed public and private health delivery system, albeit that the mixes of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations will vary with respect to the ideological, political, cultural and historical characteristics of various nations. This is an important book for collections in Canadian studies, political science, and public health.

Author: Gregory P. Marchildon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780802086266
Category : Medical care
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description

Author: Noralou Roos
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Canadian Health Policy in the News is a compendium of the commentaries (or OpEds) published by the Evidence Network of Canadian Health Policy (or EvidenceNetwork.ca) in major newspapers across the country since the birth of EvidenceNetwork.ca in April 2011 up to October 2012. It is a timely, balanced and non-partisan snapshot of what's new and controversial concerning our healthcare system and related social programs that affect health and well-being in our country - with evidence at the forefront. For the first time, we've collected this Creative Commons content together in an e-book format to make the information ever more widely available and accessible. The essays you'll find here, in both English and French, are organized by date published and according to eight loosely overlapping categories: Aging Population and Its Potential Impact addresses concerns over healthcare strains associated with our graying population. Is there a silver tsunami about to bankrupt our healthcare system? Would reforms in chronic healthcare delivery better accommodate this population? Will changes to pension benefits mean more of our seniors will live in poverty? Authors tackle these issues with evidence, and the answers may surprise many readers. Healthcare Costs and Spending addresses the increased costs for both out-of-pocket and public spending on health services in Canada. How are the numbers calculated (and spun by vested interests)? What's going on to cause these increases? And what can we do about it? Authors follow the money and give us the goods in accessible language. Private, For-Profit Solutions to Funding and Delivery deals with the public vs. private debate: loaded words in the Canadian context. There can (and already exists) public and private roles in both the funding and delivery of healthcare. What is the best balance for Canadians? Who pays and who should pay for healthcare? Who should deliver healthcare? Authors explore models and evidence from both inside the country and internationally to help forge the path forward. In More Care Is Not Always Better, authors tackle the question: 'What is the right amount of healthcare?' It's easy to assume that the real problem with the healthcare system is 'not enough,' but what does the evidence say? A growing number of studies show that more healthcare is not always better and the more expensive solutions are not always the best. In Health is More Than Healthcare, the authors sketch the relationship between various 'social determinants' of health, such as education, poverty and homelessness, and indicate that some of the most fruitful policy levers for improving public health lie outside of the domain of health services. In Patient Financing of Healthcare, the essays address direct patient financing of healthcare delivery. Would this result in a more efficient and cost-effective healthcare system? Would user fees, for example, prevent overuse and bring in needed revenue? Or would they negatively impact those who may need the health system the most? Sustainability includes OpEds which address whether Canadians can afford the level of healthcare we expect at a cost which is acceptable to the public; and whether we are at risk of losing our publicly funded health system from a financial perspective. Finally, in Waiting for Care, the authors assess wait times and access to care. How bad are wait times, really? And what will it cost to improve the situation? This book is available free-of-charge so that you can share it widely, in your classrooms, amongst your friends and colleagues, on your websites and via social media. Canadian health policy will always be emerging and unfolding, responding to changing environmental and economic factors, new technologies, publicly held values and differing political landscapes. Canadian Health Policy in the News captures a moment in time and presents the issues that concern Canadians most, grounding our national discourse and debate on healthcare in the best evidence.

Author: J. C. Herbert Emery
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Funding for Canadian public health care has long relied on a “pay-as-you-go” funding model: for the most part, government pays for health costs each year from taxes collected in that fiscal year with effectively nothing put aside for projected rising health-care costs in the future. But the future of Canadian public health care is going to get more expensive as the relatively large cohort of baby boomers reaches retirement age. As they exit the work force, and enter the ages at which Canadians use the health-care system more, a smaller population of younger workers is going to be left paying the growing health-care costs of older Canadians. If Canadians intend to preserve a publicly funded medicare system that offers a similar level of service in the future as it does today, under the pay-as-you-go model, eventually peak taxes for Canadians born after 1988 will end up twice as high as the peak taxes that the oldest baby boomers paid. The “pay-as-you-go” model has become like a Ponzi scheme, where those who got in early enough make out nicely, while those who arrive late stand to suffer a serious financial blow. This should concern both Canadians who value a comprehensive public health system as well as Canadians who value competitive tax rates: There is no reason to be certain that future taxpayers will blithely accept having their taxes substantially increased to finance health care for another, older generation that did not pay for a significant portion of its own health care. If the burden proves too high for the taxpaying public to accept, that could well jeopardize Canada's health-care system as we know it. If Canadians intend to preserve their iconic public health system, and are unprepared to unjustly overburden future generations with the tax bill left by their parents and grandparents, provincial governments must make strong and rapid efforts to reform the health system. They must find more cost-efficient ways of managing medicine, including new approaches to eldercare, chronic disease prevention and better health promotion. If policymakers respond in time with a workable strategy and adequate effort, the substantial financial health-care liability currently faced by future generations may not be eliminated entirely, but it can still be reduced dramatically.

Author: Gregory P. Marchildon
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442609753
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
Through Canadian and international perspectives, Bending the Cost Curve in Health Care explores the management of growing health costs in an extraordinarily complex arena. The book moves beyond previous debates, agreeing that while efficiencies and better value for money may yet be found, more fundamental reforms to the management and delivery of health services are essential prerequisites to bending the cost curve in the long run. While there is considerable controversy over direction and details of change, there also remains the challenge of getting agreement on the values or principles that would guide the reshaping of the policies, the structures, and the regulatory environment of health care in Canada. Leading experts from around the world representing a range of disciplines and professional backgrounds come together to organize and define the problems faced by policy-makers. Case studies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Nordic countries, and industrialized Asian countries such as Taiwan offer useful reform experiences for provincial governments in Canada. Finally, common Canadian cost factors, such as pharmaceuticals and technology, and paying the health workforce, are explored. This book is the first volume in The Johnson-Shoyama Series on Public Policy, published by the University of Toronto Press in association with the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, an interdisciplinary centre for research, teaching, and executive training with campuses at the Universities of Regina and Saskatchewan.

Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498335160
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 73

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Book Description
The sharp increase in fiscal deficits and public debt in most advanced and several developing economies has raised concerns about the sustainability of public finances and highlighted the need for a significant adjustment over the medium term. This paper assesses the usefulness of fiscal rules in supporting fiscal consolidation, discusses the design and implementation of rules based on a new data base spanning the whole Fund membership, and explores the fiscal framework that could be adopted as countries emerge from the crisis.

Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264233385
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The health systems we enjoy today, and expected medical advances in the future, will be difficult to finance from public resources without major reforms. Public health spending in OECD countries has grown rapidly over most of the last half century. These spending increases have contributed to ...