Health care

Happy new year—no more MSP!

Jan 6, 2020
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It’s a brand new year, and BC’s Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums are no more. That’s great news because MSP premiums were a very unfair tax (or “regressive” as we economists like to say). In its first budget (in 2018), the current provincial government announced it would phase out MSP premiums by 2020 and has… View Article

The importance of community health centres in BC’s primary care reforms: What the research tells us

Mar 1, 2019
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Community health centres (CHCs) have been an effective but under-valued model for delivering primary health care1 for decades in Canada and the US. One of the unique features of the model is its strong focus on the social determinants of health and preventing acute illness among groups who are more likely to experience poor health and suffer from chronic conditions, including… View Article

How (and how much) doctors are paid: why it matters

Jan 15, 2019
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How we pay doctors through our public health system is an important issue that receives little public scrutiny, despite the fact that physician compensation represents a significant share of the provincial budget and has been among the fastest-growing health care costs in recent years. A very useful analysis was conducted by BC’s Auditor General in… View Article

Priorities and funding for health care in BC

Jan 14, 2019
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This post is part of our BC Budget 2019 series, which highlights key findings from the CCPA’s research and outlines our recommendations for the 2019 provincial budget. Find more from the series at: policynote.ca/budget2019 In any provincial budget, health care is one of the biggest line items and, of course, one of our most vital… View Article

Does BC need a UK-style Minister of Loneliness?

Mar 28, 2018
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A British Cabinet Minister, Tracey Crouch, has been given the task of coming up with a national strategy to combat an epidemic of loneliness in the UK. Loneliness is a health problem around the world, and British Columbia is no exception. Social isolation is increasing here and across our country. SFU’s Director of Gerontology, Andrew Wister, notes… View Article