Canadian Cancer Survivor Network
Please accept this response to your questionnaire from Rachel Notley and the Alberta NDP.
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?
Rachel Notley and the NDP believe investing in quality-public healthcare is one of the most important things a government can do. Over the last four years, the NDP government has been fighting to make sure our loved ones get high quality care. We have provided much needed stability to the healthcare system. Instead of a health system lurching from one crisis to another, we have provided stable increases, while finding efficiencies and we’ve directed these savings to the front lines.
If re-elected, Rachel Notley and the NDP will keep fighting to make sure our loved ones get the care they need. We will continue to provide stable healthcare funding to meet the province’s growing population needs, while containing administrative and managerial costs. We will take action to lower wait times in emergency rooms and for cataract, heart and cancer surgeries. We will build an additional 2,000 long-term and dementia care beds to make sure our seniors are well taken care of. Finally, we will also strengthen regulations governing private clinics to prevent double-dipping, queue jumping and prevent any costly and reckless privatization experiments. As Premier, Rachel Notley will continue fighting for high-quality, public health care.
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 lowestcommon denominator?
o 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?
Rachel Notley and the NDP believe that no one should have to choose between paying for their prescriptions or filling their fridge. We believe a national pharmacare program would be a positive addition to Canada’s Medicare net. We support the ongoing discussions to about a national pharmacare program and if re-elected we will working to work with our partners across the country on this program to ensure it meets the needs of Albertans.
In the meantime, Rachel Notley and the NDP, if re-elected, will take action to help four out of five seniors with the costs of their prescriptions. We will save the average senior $200 a year by removing all prescription drug co-payments for seniors who earn less than $75,000. As Premier, Rachel Notley will keep fighting for affordable prescriptions for all Albertans.
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?
Rachel Notley and the NDP are fighting for a future in which no one gets left behind. Over the last four years, the NDP government has invested in healthcare to ensure our families get the high-quality health care services they need. We’ve provided stable funding for health and we
are investing in new hospitals, including the Calgary Cancer Centre. We have also been working to improve mental health supports in the province, guided by Valuing Mental Health. If re- elected, Rachel Notley and the NDP will continue to invest in our healthcare system. The most effective way we can ensure cancer survivors can get better access to rehabilitation services is to make sure the health care system as a whole is stable and well-funded. We are committed to having discussions with cancer survivors, their families and communities to discuss ways in which services for these Albertans could be improved.
Shannon Dunfield Campaign
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