“Access to affordable prescription drugs is not just a health issue, it’s a regional economic crisis,” say doctors
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
Doctors urge premier to not leave pharmacare money on the table
“As health-care providers, we were thrilled to learn that Nova Scotia has returned to the table to negotiate a bilateral agreement that would allow the federal government to cover the costs of diabetes medications and contraceptives under the new Pharmacare Act. Canada’s public health-care system is often praised for being universal, but it stops abruptly at the pharmacy counter… In Atlantic Canada, where incomes are lower, the population is older and chronic illness is more common, this gap is especially dangerous and expensive. Access to affordable prescription drugs is not just a health issue, it’s a regional economic crisis,” wrote Ayah Awada and Catherine Cervin, board members of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare, in The Chronicle Herald, July 15, 2025
Income tests contradict the purpose of public health care
“Means testing, on the basis of principle, is concerning… It shouldn’t matter how much you earn [to receive health care]…It should be a part of living here in Canada, being part of our society, of our community, and that everybody is accorded the same benefits,” said Steven Staples, national director of poicy and Advocacy of the Canadian Health Coalition, to Canadian Affairs, July 13, 2025
“A hospital declaring itself ‘world-class’ means little if its patients feel ignored”: doctor
“Too much of our system — both in Quebec and across Canada — still runs on siloed, outdated and incompatible IT infrastructure. Clinicians struggle to co-ordinate care across platforms that don’t talk to each other. Researchers cannot access the integrated data they need to drive discovery. And patients are left navigating disjointed experiences. These failures are not just technical — they are structural. In Quebec, where we aspire to integrated care, disconnected systems represent a direct obstacle to excellence,” wrote Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, professor of surgery and medicine at McGill University and president/CEO of the CIUSSS, Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, in the Montreal Gazette, July 11, 2025
Health Canada says 52 per cent of requests for pre-authorized dental work rejected
“There’s been a lot of confusion for dentists who send in what we would normally send in to a private plan, and it comes back rejected. . . A lot of people have been waiting for crowns to be pre-authorized. There was an avalanche of approvals that got sent in,” said Vancouver dentist Dr. Bruce Ward, president of the Canadian Dental Association, to CBC, July 13, 2025
People need care, not punishment
“Indigenous people were locked up by colonialism: For example, in residential day schools. And now, we are disproportionately imprisoning them and then disproportionately putting them in solitary… People with very complex mental health issues often end up being in prolonged isolation, probably because they shouldn’t have been incarcerated in the first place,” said Dr. Ruth Elwood-Martin, clinical professor emerita of population and public health and past director of the Canadian Collaboration for Prison Health and Education at the University of British Columbia, to Medscape, June 13, 2025
More than 16,000 health workers impacted by Alberta Health Care restructuring
“While the government is blowing apart Alberta Health Services, not investing in it, health-care workers are just trying to navigate their way through on a day-to-day basis and wait for the next political decision about who will employ them,” said Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, to CBC, July 10, 2025
Carney should emphasize public health, not fossil fuels
“Heat waves threaten the safety, well-being, and prosperity of Canadians, even in cities that have historically had more moderate climates, such as Vancouver, Whitehorse, and Halifax. Every ounce of fossil fuels we burn harms our health by polluting the air we breathe, impairing brain function, increasing mortality, and affecting the future of our children,” wrote Richard van der Jagt, retired hematologist/oncologist, member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Maria Medeleanu, researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children, Geoff Strong, atmospheric/climate scientist, in the Hill Times, July 9, 2025
Docs in Ontario can treat their relatives under relaxed College of Physicians and Surgeons rules
“The policy responds most directly to ongoing challenges in accessing timely care in Ontario, with particular recognition of the unique considerations of physicians working in smaller communities,” said Laura Zilke, spokesperson for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, in response to the relaxing of a policy against doctors treating themselves, family members and others close to them, in the Winnipeg Free Press, July 11, 2025
“(The Ontario government) response has been underwhelming in the sense that we’re still seeing many communities that don’t have access to a regular family doctor. We’re seeing many communities where their family doctor that is local is imminently going to retire and there’s going to be no one available to replace them . . .The investment of funds in primary care is of course extremely welcome and we agree that everyone should have access to team-based primary care in this province (but) we really need to see that outcome delivered rather than a promise,” added Dr. Robin Lennox, NDP Opposition critic for primary care, in the Winnipeg Free Press, July 11, 2025
No clear path forward for health care in Saskatchewan
“We hear of people arriving at facilities desperately seeking health care, only to find a sign on the door saying it’s closed… [It’s a concern] when emergency rooms are closed, which could be the difference between life and death, and closing without warning and without notice . . . Where is the accountability? Where is the plan to get us out of this mess? The truth is, there isn’t a plan . . . We’ve seen that this government doesn’t even seem to care,” said Keith Jorgenson, Saskatchewan NDP associate health critic, to CBC, July 9, 2025
Good faith billing system allows some Manitobans to get care without a health card
“I’ve seen dramatic, life-threatening situations develop due to folks not seeking care as early as they could have . . .The good faith billing option is really helpful. It definitely puts us more in line with other provinces,” said Nichelle Desiltets, president of Doctors Manitoba, to CBC, July 15, 2025
“What good is a social safety net that doesn’t catch you?”: lawyer
“Applications for the Canada Disability Benefit opened in June and the federal government now faces a choice: allow the benefit to remain an ineffective thread in Canada’s fraying social safety net, or tighten that net’s weave by amending the benefit to ensure that it achieves its purpose of lifting disabled people out of poverty,” said Amanda Therrien, staff lawyer at the National Association of Women and the Law, The Hill Times, July 7, 2025
