Illustration by Kara Sievewright
Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.
Health, health care system, pharmacare
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press January 17, 2018
Manitoba’s health care system is undergoing major changes. Many Manitobans fear that the changes are more about saving money than improving health, and that privatization of parts of the health care system may be a slippery slope towards the erosion of our treasured single-payer public health care system.
This report card reviews the federal government's progress in 16 key policy areas at the halfway mark of their term. It finds that, despite some positive first steps, the Liberals’ ambitious talk hasn’t been backed up with the action needed to make these promises a reality.
With two years left in the term, the report card includes suggested next steps to help the Liberal government fulfill the progressive agenda they committed to leading up to the election. Among the recommendations:
On September 28th, 2017, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) will release its estimates of the costs of “single-payer universal first-dollar prescription drug coverage” run by the federal government. While that report will provide an estimate of the costs associated with such a system, it is equally important to identify the savings that would result from its implementation.
In this issue:
Illustration by Raymond Biesinger
What is happening in this picture?
This article is available in plain language here. Plain language is a style of writing preferred by many people with intellectual disabilities.
Changes to Manitoba’s Health Care system are coming fast and furious. This will invariably impact key services we all rely on and limit access to needed services.