Learning from Australia to expand Canadian medicare
This paper discusses four areas where Canada might learn from Australia in order to expand its medicare program. You’ll also learn about aspects of the Australian healthcare system that Canada should avoid.
Read MoreCompetition in healthcare: Lessons from the UK’s experience
Learn about competition as it relates to healthcare in the United Kingdom. Understand the impact of health policy reforms on the quality, productivity, and distribution of healthcare resources across socio-economic groups.
Read MoreNurses as change agents for a better future in health care: the politics of drift and dilution
This paper takes the 70th Anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom as an opportunity to reflect upon the strategic direction of nursing policy and the extent to which nurses can realise their potential as change agents in building a better future for health care. As published in Health Economics, Policy…
Read MoreRising inequality and the implications for the future of private insurance in Canada
Income and wealth inequality have risen in Canada since its low point in the 1980s. Over that same period we have also seen an increase in the amount that Canadians spend on privately financed health care, both directly and through private health insurance. As published in Health Economics, Policy and Law Volume 13, Special Issue…
Read MoreThe impact of slow economic growth on health sector reform: a cross-national perspective
This paper assesses recent health sector reform strategies across Europe adopted since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. It begins with a brief overview of the continued economic pressure on public funding for health care services, particularly in tax-funded Northern European health care systems. As published in Health Economics, Policy and Law Volume 13,…
Read MoreWhy policy needs history (and historians)
Policy makers like the idea of new initiatives and fresh starts, unencumbered by, even actively overthrowing, what has been done in the past. At the same time, history can be pigeonholed as fusty and antiquarian, dealing with long past events of no relevance to the present. As published in Health Economics, Policy and Law Volume…
Read MoreMedicare and the care of First Nations, Métis and Inuit
Medicare). The CHA provides for the federal transfer of funding to the provinces/territories, in exchange for provincial/territorial adherence to Medicare’s key principles of universality; comprehensiveness; portability; accessibility; and, public administration. Medicare is a decentralized health care system, managed independently by Canada’s 10 provincial and three territorial governments, allowing for regional adaptations to fit varying degrees…
Read MoreCanadian medicare: Historical reflections, future directions
This special volume reflects on how history can help us better understand current policy problems in Canadian medicare.
Read MoreA successful Charter challenge to medicare? Policy options for Canadian provincial governments
In September 2016, a case went to trial in British Columbia that sought to test the constitutionality of certain healthcare-related provincial laws. In September of 2020, the challenge was struck down. Colleen Flood’s paper—written before the court’s ruling—will help you understand the legal and policy options available to Canadian lawmakers who may want to limit two-tiered healthcare if a challenge to existing laws is eventually successful. It’s a clear look at an ever-present issue that links Canadian healthcare and the judicial system.
Read MoreBitter pills: the impact of medicare on mental health
When medicare shifted mental health care into outpatient psychiatric wings, it arguably improved care for many who could now get help without enduring long-stay institutionalizations. But patients were increasingly expected to take responsibility for their own health care plans, which presented challenges that persist today. In this paper, Erika Dyck examines the tradeoffs and considers historical lessons that can contribute to today’s discussions on public policy and mental health care.
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