Positive, public solutions

Last June, BC Health Coalition members sent a clear message to Health Minister Dix and Premier Horgan: we want public solutions to B.C.’s surgical backlog. In response to the province’s Surgical Renewal Plan, 2966 of you joined us in a letter-writing campaign. Together we called for scaled up public investments in evidence-based system improvements that reduce wait times and build the capacity of our health care system now and for the future. …Read More

Today, Canada’s premiers are meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to request an increase to federal funding for health care. Health coalitions from across the country support the call for a long-term increase to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT). This funding must be accompanied by a robust accountability framework to ensure that provinces and territories invest this money in public health care and uphold the Canada Health Act.…Read More

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Vancouver (pdf here) – As the BC government takes steps to address the growing surgical backlog, the BC Health Coalition urges the government to scale up proven public surgery solutions province-wide and cautions against increased use of for-profit surgical clinics. …Read More

(.pdf version) The BC Health Coalition along with health care workers and public health experts welcome the BC government’s recent decision to expand MSP coverage to all uninsured people for COVID-19 testing and treatment.…Read More

(.pdf version) The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the extent to which our individual health is dependent on the health of everyone in our community. Public healthcare is our best defense against this crisis and others like it. However, our ability to endure crises and care for each other has been eroded through decades of austerity budgets, privatization and inadequate planning. Even during "normal times," the health care system is at capacity.…Read More

BC Health Coalition urges all parties to adopt the Advisory Committee's recommendations Vancouver ­– The BC Health Coalition is celebrating the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare's recommendation to create a universal public pharmacare program.…Read More

Counsel for Attorney General of Canada opens with argument that striking down public health care law would “turn back the clock” on health care in Canada, lead to major health inequality April 16, 2019 (Vancouver) For the first time since the trial began in 2016, the BC Supreme Court will hear from defendants and intervenors in the constitutional challenge to Canadian public health care launched by private, for-profit clinic CEO Brian Day.…Read More

Editor: After years of government inaction on wait times for surgeries, British Columbians are starting to see some progress. One year ago, Premier John Horgan announced the province’s surgical strategy to shorten wait times.  The strategy includes steps the BC Health Coalition has been calling for, including putting our existing operating rooms to better use, reorganizing wait lists to be more efficient, and investing funding in priority surgeries. …Read More

Health Minister Adrian Dix said the purchase will boost Fraser Health's MRI capacities and reduce wait times for patients. CHERYL CHAN September 25, 2018 The B.C. government is buying two privately owned MRI clinics in the Fraser Valley in a bid to expand capacity and reduce waiting times in the public system. On Monday, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced Fraser Health will purchase Surrey MRI and Fraser Valley MRI Clinic in Abbotsford effective Oct. 1.…Read More