Policy Resolution 123

123. Priority Resolution: Health Care

WHEREAS past federal payments to provinces/territories under the Canada Health Act have been the result of federal/provincial/territorial negotiation;

WHEREAS the proposed federal funding after 2018 will be determined on a provincial/territorial per capita basis but does not recognize costs related to demographic factors including age(1*);

WHEREAS quality standards are not adequately defined(2*);

WHEREAS the level of access to health care throughout rural Canada is increasingly difficult to maintain(3*);

WHEREAS improving cost efficiencies is essential to ensuring the financial sustainability of health care(4*);

BE IT RESOLVED that a Liberal Government will amend the Canada Health Act to provide that the annual payment to provinces/territories be subject to consultation between the federal/provincial/territorial governments;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Liberal Government recognize, in setting funding levels, that health care costs vary with all demographic factors, and provincial/territorial payments must reflect such factors;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Liberal Government join the ongoing provincial/territorial “Innovative Health Care Initiative”(5*,6*,7*) which has already begun to achieve improvements in quality standards, delivery standards and cost efficiencies as well as ways to improve health care access for rural residents.

Senior Liberals’ Commission

Word count: 183

(1*) http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/19/health-transfer-payments-flaherty_n_1158072.html

(2*) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/qual/2000-qual/index-eng.php

(3*) http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/prb0245-e.htm

(4*) http://gis.emro.who.int/healthsystemobservatory/Workshops/QatarConference/PPt

(5*) http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2012/exec/0117n02.htm

(6*) http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2012-06-04/article-2995720/Ghiz-Wall-looking-to-standardize-health-services/1

(7*) http://policymonitor.ca/premiers-release-health-care-innovation-working-group-report