Private health care is a big topic this #BCpoli election

I'll unpack the evidence about whether greater for-profit activity increases health system capacity and reduces wait times

🧵 There is a blurring of "who pays" (financing) and "who delivers" (delivery) health care:

1. Private financing (also called two-tier) that involves out-of-pocket or private insurance
2. Outsourcing: publicly funded services delivered by for-profit facilities

🧵@GovCanHealth's Canada Health Act report dropped today, w/ provincial illegal extra-billing amounts.
Again, BC has the most amount of illegal extra-billing (patient fees), due to for-profit surgery ctrs (what #Onpoli is inviting).

🚨$13.28m in 2019/20
canada.ca/en/health-cana… Despite efforts by BC gov to fight extra-billing in the courts, and audit clinics, BC is trending in the wrong direction.

This is direct result of BC's large for-profit surgery sector, which became entrenched over two decades.

🚨$23.1 million in 2020/21 estimate extra-billing

Rebranding for-profit surgical and medical imaging centres as “community clinics” doesn’t change the fact that they are still corporate, investor-owned businesses. #onpoli 1/x

https://twitter.com/fordnation/status/1615022652803907593

Outsourcing publicly funded procedures to corporate clinics raises concerns, including worsening public hospital staffing shortages.

The research evidence & policy experience are evaluated in my recent @CCPA_BC @BCHC. BC context but core issues the same.
policyalternatives.ca/corporate-medi…

Researchers are confident that majority unvaxxed pop likely to be infected this fall/winter, esp in unvaxxed settings with few/no NPIs (eg child care & primary school). Yesterday, @CDCofBC head was on @CBCOnTheCoast. My concerns in this 🧵 cbc.ca/listen/live-ra… #bcpoli #bced Delta is ~2x more transmissible than original COVID. Emerging evidence also shows that it is more severe in the unvaccinated. Fully vaxxed with breakthrough infections can spread to others, but vaxxed appear to spread the virus for a shorter time. cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

That #bcpoli continues to throttle testing is not some conspiracy. Since 2nd wave criteria has been restrictive, requiring specific symptoms or # of symptoms. And asymptomatic testing has never been allowed even asymptomatic spread is a fact. And now very few testing sites open. This is the opposite approach to jurisdictions that have kept community transmission very low including Nova Scotia, NZ, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Australia, & some countries in Europe. To deny BC’s approach is at odds with effective testing strategies is to deny reality. #bcpoli

Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I don’t think many of those 70m Trump voters want to be brought along. And what does bringing them along even look like?

To avoid civil war and repeating this period, there must be some honest talk about what the US looks like going forward. I’m sure there will be lots of thoughtful takes on this very question in coming days and weeks. For me this is the big question. All the talk of coming together as one nation seems deeply naive and, frankly, dangerous.

In a new @NUPGE report, I analyze how Bill 30 (Alberta)—along with recent policy reforms—paves the way for primary/community care & acute care privatization—& the potential implications for Canadian Medicare.

Short thread below.

Report: nupge.ca/sites/default/… #abpoli #cdnpoli In February 2020, the government-commissioned Ernst & Young review of Alberta Health Services (AHS) recommended contracting out surgeries, including those that require an overnight stay or longer. #abpoli

AB govt is determined to privatize public health care. An RFP just closed for a "Health Contracting Secretariat" that will use public $ to help attract corporations/reduce barriers to market entry. Part of the assault on public delivery & the non-partisan public service. #abpoli @Lorian_H @FriendsMedicare @sandraiaz @PoliScIrish @ParklandInst @UbakaOgbogu @PIAlberta

Alberta is paving the way for a for-profit hospital industry in Canada.

$400 million will be flowing into for-profit surgeries. That’s huge.

Private facilities currently perform 15% of AB’s surgeries, but will increase to 30%.

#bcpoli #abpoli #cdnpoli edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/… In @CCPA_BC report, we raised alarm re BC plan to outsource many more surgeries, including complex ones req’ing overnight stays. AHS review recommends outsourcing longer-stay surgeries. This would open door to a for-profit hospital sector. #abpoli #cdnpoli policyalternatives.ca/publications/r…

This is a very concerning report. Advocate found that BC gov't is not getting good value for money by contracting with for-profit corporations. This report & int'l evidence indicate better value from non-profit & public delivery, & need to reduce reliance on for-profits. #bcpoli

https://twitter.com/SrsAdvocateBC/status/1224758132737359872

In fact, for-profit companies failed to deliver funded hours they were contractually obligated to provide.

British Columbians have been take for a ride by corporations — at significant public expense. #bcpoli