123. Priority Resolution: Health Care
WHEREAS past federal payments to provinces/territories under the Canada Health Act have been the result of federal/provincial/territorial negotiation;
WHEREAS the proposed federal funding after 2018 will be determined on a provincial/territorial per capita basis but does not recognize costs related to demographic factors including age(1*);
WHEREAS quality standards are not adequately defined(2*);
WHEREAS the level of access to health care throughout rural Canada is increasingly difficult to maintain(3*);
WHEREAS improving cost efficiencies is essential to ensuring the financial sustainability of health care(4*);
BE IT RESOLVED that a Liberal Government will amend the Canada Health Act to provide that the annual payment to provinces/territories be subject to consultation between the federal/provincial/territorial governments;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Liberal Government recognize, in setting funding levels, that health care costs vary with all demographic factors, and provincial/territorial payments must reflect such factors;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Liberal Government join the ongoing provincial/territorial “Innovative Health Care Initiative”(5*,6*,7*) which has already begun to achieve improvements in quality standards, delivery standards and cost efficiencies as well as ways to improve health care access for rural residents.
Senior Liberals’ Commission
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(1*) http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/19/health-transfer-payments-flaherty_n_1158072.html
(2*) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/qual/2000-qual/index-eng.php
(3*) http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/prb0245-e.htm
(4*) http://gis.emro.who.int/healthsystemobservatory/Workshops/QatarConference/PPt
(5*) http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2012/exec/0117n02.htm
(6*) http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2012-06-04/article-2995720/Ghiz-Wall-looking-to-standardize-health-services/1
(7*) http://policymonitor.ca/premiers-release-health-care-innovation-working-group-report