Health, health care system, pharmacare

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The Community and Continuing Care sector is fundamental to B.C.'s entire health care system. The sector's significance can be traced to the 1991 Seaton Commission, which proposed a "closer to home" theme for health care restructuring. The commission urged the transfer of resources from hospitals to the community, to promote the benefits of early intervention, prevention and integrated, local care.
(Vancouver) A new study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says that the current debate about addiction is incomplete. Public debate about addiction prevention, treatment, harm reduction and law enforcement focuses only on drug addiction, without addressing the root causes of addiction. Bruce Alexander, author of the study and a professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University, says that all forms of addiction are on the rise in Canada, not just drug addiction.
This paper is a thoughtful examination of the origins of addiction in modern free market society. It breaks from the narrow way in which we usually think about addiction -- as excessive drug use -- to encompass any lifestyle with compulsive and destructive habits, including the compulsion for money, power, work, food, or material goods. Author Bruce Alexander, a Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser University, discusses why addiction is a serious and growing problem today, and looks at the links between the growth of "free markets" and the spread of addiction.
(Vancouver) Inequality increased in most provinces during the 1990s, but BC held its ground, according to a new report, Behind the Headlines 2001, from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. This will change, however, if the new government pursues the same market-oriented policies that led to rising inequality elsewhere.
(Vancouver) The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says a study it released today shows BC's Reference Drug Program has been effective at slowing down the growth of prescription drug expenditures, without harm to patient health. The Centre says the program should not be scrapped, and is worthy of replication in other jurisdictions.
Inside this issue: Restructuring Government in BC: Are we asking the right questions? Cutting Pharmacare won't cut health costs Economic Impacts of Tax Cuts and Spending Cuts
(Vancouver) The CCPA has published a policy brief called "Health care restructuring in BC." It considers the implications of the provincial government's plan for health care reorganization, announced on April 23, 2002. The report's three co-authors, Sylvia Fuller, Colleen Fuller and Marcy Cohen, are available for interviews.