Question 1: Cancer Care and Health Care Services
According
to a Leger Marketing poll, healthcare is the number one issue on the minds of
Alberta voters. About one quarter of Albertans believe that healthcare is the
most important issue facing Alberta today and almost four in ten will evaluate
the parties’ position on healthcare when deciding who to vote for (Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal, March 28, 2012).
- If
elected, how will your government improve the delivery of cancer care and other
healthcare services in Alberta?
The NDP appreciates your work to promote the very best standard of care, support, follow up services, and
quality of life for patients and survivors.
As
many experts point out, cancer is a complicated set of diseases and there is no
one solution for everything. That said, the
Alberta NDP would prioritize continued research about cancer, would invest
heavily in community based health care and prevention, and would pay more
attention to cancer survivorship and post-treatment follow-up.
To
determine areas for improvement in care and to evaluate the effectiveness of
cancer treatment, we must collect adequate information about wait times,
treatment and transition and publicize these findings. Last year NDP leader Brian
Mason pressured the health minister to release cancer surgery wait times
between 2000-2007. The Conservatives hesitated to release the wait times for
cancer surgery and it was only after repeated challenges that the government
finally responded by striking a Health Quality Council investigation. The Conservatives have also failed to release the most recent AHS quarterly
performance report, which is now overdue, as a way to see how well care is
doing in other areas. This suggests that there has been little improvement in
wait times and makes many people distrust the health care system.
An NDP government would publicize these findings in an
effort to be more accountable and would reduce these wait times by immediately
investing in improved care. We would improve care by hiring more doctors, more
nurses, and building 1, 500 long term care beds to relieve pressure on the
acute care system. The number
of health professionals would be increased by working with nursing and medical
schools to increase enrollment, by providing incentives for graduates to work in
Alberta, and by improving the process so internationally educated professionals
can work here. The process of planning and building new facilities including
hospitals would be removed from political agendas and determined and made
public based on clear objective criteria and known in time for proper planning.
Funding
for such improved care can easily be paid both because there will be
significant savings at the emergency and acute care end of the health system
and more substantially because the NDP is proposing very small income tax
increases for corporations and very wealthy individuals and a small increase in
royalty rates for bitumen. Quality health care does not need to be threatened
by talk of our system being too expensive. Such an investment will insure ensure
patient, provider and health system readiness to take up innovative form of
treatment, post-treatment follow-up and cancer survivorship care.
Lastly, the Alberta NDP would invest heavily in
community-based education and preventative care. Many of the risk
factors for cancer can be treated by working with communities and addressing
the social determinants of health, such as nutritional eating and exercise to
particular populations, safe housing and workplaces free of hazardous chemicals.
The Alberta NDP would also use legislation to reduce such major risk factors as
smoking (for example, by increasing the tax on cigarettes).
- Will your government continue to provide a publicly funded healthcare system or
would it institute a private healthcare system? Please provide the rationale
for your decision.
During
this election the NDP is saying excellent public health care is the top
priority and after the election, a bill to protect the public health care
system would be the first bill for an NDP government. That commitment has been
demonstrated as the NDP has led the work to protect and improve public health
over the decades and the NDP stands by that commitment now.
All
people with cancer should have access to the treatments and supplies they need,
regardless of their income. However, over the years the number of medical
services covered by medicare have been eroded and the number of private
services offered have increased. The
Conservative government’s encouragement of privatization in our province’s
health system threatens eventually to make healthcare less accessible for
people with lower incomes and quality of care may come to depend more on
ability to pay. Alberta’s NDP opposes the delisting of services or any measure
that will permit some to go ahead in the line if they are able to pay, and
supports policy measures that ensure that all Albertans are getting the
healthcare they need. The NDP will energetically be vigilant for evidence that
health services in Alberta are not being delivered with full respect for all
pillars of the Canada Health Act and will fight any moves to a system where
quality of care in any way depends on ability to pay.
- How will your government restructure healthcare delivery in Alberta?
The
Alberta NDP respects the recent report of the Health Quality Council that there
has been too much unplanned change in the health system in recent years and
would not immediately restructure the health boards because of the further disruption
that this would cause to a health system that is already significantly
challenged. The delivery of health care, however, would be more effective
because the backlog in the system would be adequately addressed with the
building of long term care facilities and the hiring of more health care professionals.
As mentioned, an NDP government would also expand the healthcare system’s focus
on preventative care and medicine to help Albertans avoid health problems or complications
before they begin. This would be delivered in greater partnership with communities.
Over the longer term the NDP believes the Alberta Health Services should be
disbanded and the department of Health and Wellness be directly responsible for
both policy and delivery of health services but that regional advisory boards
with elected representatives are needed. Commitments to better funded home care
services will also help with service delivery and reduce both emergency
department visits and the
need
for acute care treatment.
- How
will your government improve services for lymphedema following cancer
treatment?
Secondary lymphedema needs to be addressed with proactive
efforts to increase awareness of lymphedema and mitigate the risks. The Alberta
NDP would work with experts to offer better self management techniques and
would ensure that treatments such as massage, exercise plans, compression
bandages and all other assisted devices are fully covered by medicare.
Question 2: Drug Approval
On average between 2004-2010, Alberta has approved for public
reimbursement 17.7% of the 306 new drugs approved by Health Canada, compared to
the cross-country provincial average for the same period of 23.44% (Access
Delayed, Access Denied: Waiting for New Medicines in Canada, Mark Rovere
and Brett J. Skinner, Studies in Health Policy, April 2012, The Fraser
Institute).
If elected, will your government commit to increasing the number of new
cancer and other drugs approved for public reimbursement so that all Albertans
have timely access to the drugs they need, and if so, how will this be
accomplished?
The Alberta NDP would speed the regulatory process for
new cancer drugs and would adequately fund them so that all Albertans have
access, regardless of their income. Critical to this effort is the protection
of the public system of health care. Two tier systems,
with both a public and a private option, erode the quality of care in the
public system by reducing funds directed towards it and by expecting the other
sector to care for the needs of the population. In fact, the quality and
accessibility of care is known to be compromised by a two tier system. Critics blame
Britain’s low cancer survival rate on the two tier system and the central
institute that determines which treatments should be publicly covered. For a
short time neither private nor public insurance would cover Herpecin because of
its high costs, although it is a drug known for its ability to help cure
early-stage breast cancer treatment. It was only after two British women sued
for access to the $44,000 a year treatment that it was granted by the public
system.
The
Alberta NDP would protect the public health care system and would ensure that
the approval process of new drugs is at or above the national average. We would also lower prescription drug prices by establishing the
Alberta Pharmaceutical Savings Agency to oversee the bulk purchase of
medications sold at pharmacies and used by AHS. Finally, we would implement a
prescription drug strategy to use less expensive generic drugs when they are
proven to offer equal health outcomes to the more expensive option. The Alberta NDP would ensure that all avenues
are explored to get the patient back to a meaningful, fulfilled life.
