Medicare). The CHA provides for the federal transfer of funding to the provinces/territories, in exchange for provincial/territorial adherence to Medicare’s key principles of universality; comprehensiveness; portability; accessibility; and, public administration. Medicare is a decentralized health care system, managed independently by Canada’s 10 provincial and three territorial governments, allowing for regional adaptations to fit varying degrees…

This special volume reflects on how history can help us better understand current policy problems in Canadian medicare.

In September 2016, a case went to trial in British Columbia that sought to test the constitutionality of certain healthcare-related provincial laws. In September of 2020, the challenge was struck down. Colleen Flood’s paper—written before the court’s ruling—will help you understand the legal and policy options available to Canadian lawmakers who may want to limit two-tiered healthcare if a challenge to existing laws is eventually successful. It’s a clear look at an ever-present issue that links Canadian healthcare and the judicial system.

When medicare shifted mental health care into outpatient psychiatric wings, it arguably improved care for many who could now get help without enduring long-stay institutionalizations. But patients were increasingly expected to take responsibility for their own health care plans, which presented challenges that persist today. In this paper, Erika Dyck examines the tradeoffs and considers historical lessons that can contribute to today’s discussions on public policy and mental health care.

Canada is the only country with a broad public health system that does not include universal, nationwide coverage for pharmaceuticals. This omission causes real hardship to those Canadians who are not well-served by the existing patchwork of limited provincial plans and private insurance. It also represents significant forgone benefits in terms of governments’ ability to…

Learn about the small, physician-led organizations that have supported Canadian medicare over the years. Understand their common characteristics and see how physicians might become better stewards of this important program in the future.

This article covers seven strategies that Israel uses to manage the costs of its national pharmaceutical program. Canada has much to learn from Israel if it hopes to expand Canadian medicare to include a pharmaceutical benefit for everyone.

Health systems have repeatedly addressed concerns about efficiency and equity by employing trans-national comparisons to draw out the strengths and weaknesses of specific policy initiatives. This paper demonstrates the potential for explicit historical analysis of waiting times for hospital treatment to add value to spatial comparative methodologies. As published in Health Economics, Policy and Law…