Good Afternoon,
Question 1: Strengthening a publicly-funded healthcare system
The Alberta Liberals will reduce the cost of our healthcare system by spending smartly in the areas that drive down long term costs. We need to invest in continuing and preventative care.
It’s less costly to keep people healthy than it is to treat them when they’re sick. continuing care spaces are less expensive than keeping people in acute care yet we many in need of continuing care are left in acute care due to a lack of spaces.
Our plan will:
- Create 2, 200 new long-term care space.
- Invest $150 million into home care and assisted living.
- Invest $100 million into Preventative Care
- Create a Preventative Care task force to explore best practices in fields like nutrition, health education, screening, prevention, and team-based community care.
- Reduce costs by cutting the number of middle managers at AHS.
There is too much administrative burden in our healthcare system. We need to reduce the number of middle managers.
Long-term bed promise will costs $92 million ($23 mill annually)
Homecare/Assisted living: ($37.5 mill annually)
Preventive care investment timeline will be dependent on the task force findings. “We are prepared to spend more or less depending on the results.”
Why more beds than the NDP have Promised?
We need to get this critical health infrastructure in place to drive down long term costs and meet people’s needs.
Only 52 per cent of people are being placed in continuing care within 30 days of assessment. 65 per cent is the Government goal.
According to a 2011 study Cost of Care Survey acute care is about 4x as expensive as home care and is over twice as expensive as long-term care
The task force will examine best practices in nutrition, health education, screening and prevention as well as greater focus on bringing team-based community care. A 1% increase in prevention funding would yield tremendous cost savings and save lives.
The greatest determinant of health is behavioural patterns. Despite this, the majority of healthcare expenditure has been on medical treatments, and not health promotion and other strategies that aim to prevent the need for medical care.
In 2013, only 5.1% of the total healthcare expenditure in Canada was for public health, which encompasses activities related to health promotion and prevention.
A 2013 study by the World Health Organization (WHO) that reviewed the clinical and academic literature found strong evidence to invest in health promotion and disease prevention.
The “Grey Wave” that is coming is actually biggest long term fiscal threat to Alberta. We can’t talk about fairness to future generations without talking about sustainable healthcare.
If we don’t start acting now it may be too late. We are already behind the curve in dealing with this oncoming crisis.
Question 2: National pharmacare
The Alberta Liberals will work the Federal Government and our partners in confederation on the implementation of a national pharmacare plan that provides access to affordable drugs for all Albertans.
Medication is a critical part of healthcare.Our system is not truly universal without it.We need to work with other provinces to create a national pharmacare strategy.
Canadians could save between 10% and 42%—up to $10.7 billion—of total drug expenditures with a universal system. That’s about a billion in savings for Alberta.
Question 3: Access to cancer rehabilitation services
Surviving cancer can leave a host of problems in its wake. Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment.
Please see the responses for Healthcare as I feel that this would be one and the same. As I have had a person very dear to me pass away from Cancer I feel there is more that we can do for this with keeping our healthcare strong and introducing PharmaCare
If elected as an MLA, would you be interested in serving on the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network’s All-party Cancer Caucus which meets twice a year and is currently studying gaps in rehabilitation services in Alberta and how to fill them?
I would like to be a part of this. If anything I would like to see the group meet more frequently as well as this is a growing concern that effects a lot of people.
Amy Yates
Alberta Liberal Candidate
Taber Warner
Questions:
Dear Candidate:
According to the Alberta Health Services 2019 Report on Cancer Statistics, 21,510 cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2021 resulting to a 115% increase from cancer diagnosis rates from 1996.
The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network (CCSN) works to connect patients, survivors and other stakeholder groups with decision makers and the wider community to engage in discussion and to act on evidence-based best practices to alleviate the medical, emotional, financial and social costs of cancer and encourage research on ways to overcome barriers to optimal cancer care and follow-up for survivors in Canada.
The government of Alberta has a critical role to play in making sure that everyone diagnosed with cancer has timely access to the medications they need; is not subjected to dangerously long wait times for diagnosis and treatment; and receives adequate financial support during diagnosis and treatment.
We invite you to respond to the following questions about cancer care and healthcare in Alberta. Your responses will be circulated to cancer patients and survivors in Alberta and included on our website at www.survivornet.ca. Links to your responses will also be posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Question 1: Strengthening a publicly-funded healthcare system
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Alberta spends more on healthcare than any of the other provinces and territories. This is projected to increase due to the aging population in the province. Concerns have been voiced on the sustainability of healthcare spending, and parties are responding with best approaches to ensuring Albertans receive affordable, accessible, timely and quality care.
- If elected, what steps will your government take to strengthen the publicly-funded healthcare system in Alberta?
Question 2: National pharmacare
Canada’s universal healthcare system does not include access to prescription medicines. The result is a provincial/territorial patchwork of public and private insurance plans that are costly, ineffective and do not guarantee access to prescribed drugs. The federal government has set up an Advisory Council on the Implementation of Pharmacare to look at how access to prescription drugs can be improved in our healthcare system. Patients throughout Canada are concerned that national pharmacare will lead to a list of covered drugs that only meets the lowest common denominator.
- If elected, will your government support the implementation of a national pharmacare program that guarantees access to prescription medicines and a coverage plan that goes beyond a formulary that meets the lowest common denominator?
- If not, please explain how your party will ensure that Albertans will have timely access to prescription drugs.
- Will your government consult Albertan patients, survivors and caregivers on how to move forward with national pharmacare?
Question 3: Access to cancer rehabilitation services
Surviving cancer can leave a host of problems in its wake. Physical, emotional, and financial hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment.
While advances in cancer detection and treatments have reduced mortality, persistent and late effects of cancer and its treatments need to be identified and managed lifelong, with rehabilitation programs filling a gap in survivorship care and responding to the need of some survivors for more specialized physical and mental recovery care.
- If elected to government, how will you ensure that cancer survivors have timely access to rehabilitation services in Alberta that are timely and free?
- If elected as an MLA, would you be interested in serving on the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network’s All-party Cancer Caucus which meets twice a year and is currently studying gaps in rehabilitation services in Alberta and how to fill them?
We thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Canadian Cancer Survivor Network & Alberta Health Coalition