The Santis team shares its insights on the key sectors and factors driving decisions and change in the health care and life sciences sector across Canada.
Hoskins Report Recommends Single-Payer Universal Pharmacare Plan
Rather than a “fill in the gaps” model, the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare has recommended an expansive pharmacare regime that would replace existing public and private insurance plans with a single national framework.
Read MoreB.C. Introduces Long-Awaited Biosimilars Switching Policy
British Columbia’s Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, announced a series of policy changes yesterday designed to reduce the cost of biologic drugs and expand access to new medicines. These goals will be accomplished through the “Biosimilars Initiative,” a policy framework unveiled Monday morning that will transition most of the 20,000+ patients in B.C. currently receiving an originator biologic medicine to one of its biosimilars.
Read MoreFord Government Tables First Fiscal Budget Amidst Period of Health Care Transformation
On Thursday, April 11, 2019, Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli introduced the Progressive Conservatives’ first budget, ‘Protecting What Matters Most’. The plan is focused on setting a five-year path to a balanced budget while protecting public services such as health care and education. Health and education are the only two departments whose budgets are increasing over the course of this fiscal year.
Read MoreOntario Government Announces Ontario Health Team (OHT) Application Process
On April 3, 2019, the Ontario Government released detailed guidance documents to health care providers interested in becoming an Ontario Health Team (OHT). OHTs are a core component of the government’s efforts to improve the province’s health system performance, and were announced by Christine Elliott, Minister of Health and Long-term Care, at the end of February.
Read MoreINSIGHTS: Federal Budget 2019
On the surface Budget 2019 seeks to reaffirm the Liberal’s narrative of being “defenders of middle-class Canadians” as they head closer to a federal election where that narrative may well be called into question. Below the surface, the Budget is an attempt to shore up support among key demographics.
Read MoreINSIGHTS: The Convergence of Policies: Pharmacare, pCHOs and Drug Pricing
On Wednesday, March 6, 2019, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor released an interim report on national pharmacare. Joining the two Ministers were members of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of Pharmacare, including its Chair, Dr. Eric Hoskins.
Read MoreINSIGHTS: Christine Elliott Announces Ambitious Plan to Transform the Structure of Ontario Health Care
On Tuesday, February 28, 2019, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, introduced a long-rumoured plan to reform the delivery of health care in Ontario. If passed, the proposed “People’s Health Care Act” will lead to significant changes in how the provincial health care system is structured, funded, and managed.
Read MoreLeaked Health Care Plan Documents: New Details and Minister Elliott’s Response
New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath provided details about the leaked documents that imply major changes to Ontario’s health care system. They include the following:
Read MoreHealth System Efficiency Act, 2019: Summary of the Early Draft Legislation
As many health sector stakeholders in Ontario digest the sobering findings of the first interim report from the Premier’s Council on Ending Hallway Medicine titled Hallway Health Care: A System Under Strain, the government is concurrently dealing with the political fallout from a leaked draft bill which proposes a major structural overhaul in the way Ontario oversees the delivery of health services in the province.
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