Roy Romanow's recommendations for the future of medicare in Canada are not due until November, but Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan is already pledging swift action on them. In a major Aug. 19 policy speech to physicians attending the CMA's annual meeting, she promised to deliver a working plan within months of receiving Romanow's conclusions, although implementing it could take several years. She also advised the 222 delegates that health care “renewal” is not code for “two-tier” medicine. “That's not going to happen [because] that's not what Canadians want.”
McLellan also used her first visit to the CMA's annual meeting to deliver the feel-good message that she wishes to “rely heavily on the expertise of individual health care providers and organizations like the CMA” when she prepares her working plan for the refurbished system. She said the system should then remain in place for several decades because the Romanow report “should provide us with the kind of analysis needed to inform the kinds of choices and the kinds of trade-offs that will be required.”
She called the CMA's proposal for a new Health Charter “intriguing” but wondered how it would “bridge the different federal and provincial constitutional responsibilities.” She did promise that Ottawa will bolster the system by maintaining and strengthening universal accessibility and addressing the timeliness and quality of the care being delivered.
“Our national recommitment to universal, quality health care will not falter due to lack of funding. The federal government will do its fair share.”
Medical marijuana
During last year's annual meeting, then Federal Health Minister Allan Rock told critics of his government's pledge to supply medical marijuana to qualified patients that Ottawa was “breaking new ground because it is the right thing to do.” At this year's meeting doctors received a much different message, with McLellan saying that no marijuana will be delivered until clinical trials are completed. This essentially means that Rock's plan is on the back burner. Although Rock said the government had acted “out of compassion,” McLellan said she wants some clarity from the courts. Unlike Rock, she feels “a certain degree of discomfort around this issue.” — Barbara Sibbald, Saint John
Figure. McLellan: “We'll move fast.” Photo by: Steven Wharry