The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is calling on governments to put patients first, invest in prevention, and embrace more public-private solutions to delivering cost effective health care.

The CLHIA released a policy statement Wednesday, setting out a number of recommendations for achieving a sustainable public health care system. It suggests that “rising health care costs, service delivery limitations and looming human resource issues are undermining the health care system in this country.”

The paper notes that health care spending is large and growing quickly, yet delivering only middling performance compared with other countries. “Some provinces project their health care spending to consume 70% of total revenues by 2020, severely compromising investments in other areas of the public purse such as education, childcare, infrastructure and innovation. Given these trends, Canada’s health care system is not sustainable,” it maintains.

“Canada’s current health care system is not sustainable at the current rate of spending. Governments need to recognize this and take positive steps to put our public health care system on a solid footing that will assure quality service to Canadians,” says CLHIA’s president, Frank Swedlove. “Canadians must participate with their governments in a meaningful debate on how best to achieve this.”

The paper calls for a greater role for the private sector in delivering care, along with more government investment. “To enhance the sustainability of Canada’s health care system, our industry proposes to build on the successful public-private partnerships that are already an integral part of the system. To ensure that all Canadians have access to quality health care, our industry recommends that governments work towards: a patient-focused approach to health care; affordable prescription drugs; an increased emphasis on wellness and disease prevention; and increased support for long-term/continuing care,” it says.

The paper recommends that governments partner with the private sector to increase efficiencies and fill gaps in delivery of services. “As a first step, governments in Canada can develop a list of services to be delivered in public-private partnership and procedures that can be funded privately, as has been done in Quebec,” it says.

The report also calls for technology investments to create electronic health records and enhance connectivity for health care professionals, and for better long-term human resource planning. “To fill service gaps caused by current shortages and better use resources, we further recommend that governments re-evaluate scopes of practice and current processes for the integration of health care professionals trained abroad,” it says.

CLHIA also recommends that catastrophic drug coverage be established for all Canadians, that drug pricing be equitable across private and public programs, and that a healthy generic drug program that is open to competition be created. Additionally, it calls for more investment by governments in a wellness and disease prevention; that governments provide financial and tax incentives for individuals and corporations to help finance care; and, that governments increase support for continuing care needs.

IE