The Canadian National Newspaper: Stephen Harper government's policies causes Canada to slip to the bottom, in a 30 countries health-care ranking

Stephen Harper government's policies causes Canada to slip to the bottom, in a 30 countries health-care ranking

The Stephen Harper government is focusing the expenditure of precious Canadian taxpayer revenues into a defence budget, that is directed toward the support for the operation of the U.S. Bush administration's military-industrial complex in the Middle East. This priorisation context has taken critically needed public resources away from Canada's vital public healthcare system. The following is an article prepared under the editorial guidance of Kajsa Wilhelmsson.

Edited by Kajsa Wilhelmsson

Canada ranks at the absolute bottom in a healthcare index with 30 countries; moreover, Canadians get less for their healthcare spending then any of the European Union countries.

Canada ranks 23rd for consumer friendliness in healthcare in the Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index report launched today by the Health Consumer Powerhouse and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. This is the first time that Canada is included in a comprehensive benchmarking exercise that analyzes consumer responsiveness among 29 national European healthcare systems.

The Index is based on the simple question: "How well are the needs of consumers met?" 27 criteria sorted in the groups Patient rights and information, Waiting times, Outcomes, Generosity of public systems and Pharmaceuticals are used. This is the first step to the empowerment of the Canadian healthcare consumer. Later in 2008 a regionalized Canadian index will be launched.

"The Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index shows that we do a mediocre job of fulfilling our commitment to excellent and accessible healthcare," lead researcher Rebecca Walberg said. "The Austrians, the French and the Dutch enjoy better and more accessible healthcare than we do, and at a lower per capita cost. There is no reason why Canada cannot improve and reach a similar level, and the Index is an important new tool to use to this end."

"However, the medical outcomes are ok." Walberg continues. "We do not reach the outstanding levels of Sweden but we do well. The 30-day mortality rate for Canadian patients who suffered a heart attack is a very low one, 11.1%, which indicates excellent hospital treatment. For infant mortality and five-year cancer survival rates, we have a more average outcome."

Health Consumer Powerhouse President Johan Hjertqvist said that the Index has led to significant changes in some EU countries. "Following the release of our 2006 European Health Consumer Index, the Danish government added more money to improve Danish healthcare. In Ireland, its poor ranking caused a media outcry and intense pressure for reform. Sweden has also taken significant steps toward more consumer friendly healthcare."

The organisations' recommendations for improvement of Canadian healthcare would be:

- Abandon the Canadian system of block budgeting in healthcare and instead switch to performance-based financing, to cut waiting and improve quality.

- In comparison to Europe, Canada is surprisingly un-generous regarding subsidizing all kinds of prescription drugs. Canada ought to lower the high-cost ceilings to improve equal access to medicines.

- Cut waiting times and speed up introductions of new drugs for cancer treatment.

In the area of patient rights and information, Canada scores the worst, along with countries such as Poland and Latvia, the report concludes. "It's certainly not news to Canadians that diagnosis and treatment waiting times in Canada are long. But it is a surprise to see that their score is at the very bottom of the ranking, after for example Slovakia and the Czech Republic."

While the top ranked healthcare states in Europe provide public funding for over 90% of all spending on drugs, in Canada just 38% of prescription costs are publicly paid. "This means large part of the population cannot afford their prescribed drugs" Walberg said; "this is not the case in the European countries."

The Index includes a "Bang for the Buck" matrix, which assesses each state's performance in the context of how much is spent on healthcare per capita. "From this perspective", Walberg said, "Canada falls to the very bottom, getting the least value for money of all 30 countries that were analyzed".

You can use this link to download an EMBARGOED copy of the Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2008: Pdf document LINK

Health Consumer Powerhouse is the leading European provider of consumer information on health care. The Powerhouse dedicates ideas and resources to the development of consumer empowerment action. We analyse healthcare and compare the outcomes, designing consumer information tools such as healthcare systems and Illnesses indexes, consumer press and education. We are a registered Swedish entity.

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent think tank with offices in Winnipeg and Regina. Its mission is to explore options for the future by undertaking research and education that supports economic growth and opportunity.

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