Quick Links Visit our website Who we are How we work What we do Common Cause Best Kept Secret: Canada's Health Care Competitive Advantage   The Council of Canadians has launched a new campaign to spread the message that public health care offers Canadian businesses and citizens a true competitive advantage. Best Kept Secret: Canada's Health Care Competitive Advantage aims to raise awareness of the economic advantages of public health care and the benefits of public insurance and non-profit delivery of health care services. Click here to learn more   Multinational corporations in B.C.'s public hospitals must pay living wages - sign the petition today!     The massive privatization of hospital cleaning and food services in 2003 left thousands of health care workers living from paycheque to paycheque, struggling to support themselves and their families. At the same time, their corporate employers take in billions of dollars in revenue every year.   Tell health authorities to hold corporations in our public facilities accountable for providing safe working conditions and fair, family-supporting wages. Sign the petition now!   Watch the stories of four hospital support service workers and find out what a living wage would mean to them.   For more information visit www.bclivingwage.org   Resources   BCHC Workshops now available   If you are interested in having the BC Health Coalition conduct a workshop in your community, call us and we will come to you! We are now offering workshops on: Health Care P3s Private For-Profit Clinics Engaging Youth in Health Care issues Building a Local Public Health Care Campaign For more information call 604.681.7945 or e-mail info@bchealthcoalition.ca	June 2008 Thousands of British Columbians join the BC Health Coalition in Bill 21 action, demanding government implement positive, public health care solutions   The BC government recently enacted Bill 21, the Medicare Protection Amendment Act, forcing it through the Legislature with out proper debate. The Bill includes a number of amendments that undermine Medicare and which drew swift opposition from citizens across the province who flooded the office of Health Minister George Abbott with thousands of faxes calling for the government to Kill Bill 21 because: Bill 21 adds "sustainability" as the sixth principle of medicare even though health care spending has remained stable over the past decade as a percentage of the province's economy. Government could use this language to justify further cuts to public health care services and allow doctors to charge patients for medically necessary services. Bill 21 adds code words like "individual choice" and "personal responsibility" that really mean patients could be forced to pay more user fees and rely on costly private insurance. Bill 21 calls for an "integrated" health care system that paves the way for more private investors to take profit from our public services. Following last year's Conversation on Health, the BC Health Coalition continues to stand with British Columbians in their calls for an expansion of public innovations and public solutions to our health care challenges. We cannot allow the government to use Bill 21 to push its privatization agenda! Click here to send an e-mail to Health Minister George Abbott NOW and demand that the government prohibit the charging of user-fees and extra billing by any for-profit health care provider for publicly insured medical services. Choices that Matter: Doctors Speak Out Against Privatization Hundreds of citizens packed the Heritage Hall in Vancouver on April 8 to hear doctors tell true stories from behind the curtain of private health care. The BC Health Coalition event featured Dr. Allyson Pollock, Head of the Centre for International Public Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh, who spoke about the high costs and other dangers of Public Private Partnerships (P3s) and the devastation this model has caused in the UK. Other speakers included Dr. Wayne Hildahl, founder and CEO of Winnipeg's Pan Am Clinic - a former private for profit-clinic that now promotes public innovation in the public system - and Dr. Michael Klein, founding member of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, who underlined that public investment in health care is sustainable, despite the myths perpetuated by government and health care privatization lobbyists. To watch the presentations and webcast of this important event click here. Click here to send an e-mail Health Minister George Abbott NOW and demand that the government prohibit the charging of user-fees and extra billing by any for-profit health care provider for publicly insured medical services. Seniors' Health Activists Demand Action now! "Mobilize to improve seniors' health" is the message from the recent BC Health Coalition sponsored seniors' health strategy session. On May 3, 2008, more than 50 seniors and seniors' advocates from around the province gathered to discuss the crisis in seniors' health care and organize to demand action from all levels of government. Activists from around BC expressed the same concern: despite countless reports, studies, and recommendations, the government continues to allow seniors to suffer. Top of the agenda is a call for a seniors' advocate, $125 million in funding for home support services, 5000 new long term care beds now, and at least four hours of direct nursing care per resident per day in long term care. The province-wide seniors' health campaign will be launched next month and roll out with activities around the province in support of improved seniorscare. Watch for upcoming action alerts and other campaign activities. Click here to send an E-mail to Premier Campbell NOW and demand that he restore funding for Home Support immediately! return to top
BC Health Coalition • 411 Dunsmuir Street Vancouver, BC V6B 1X4 P: 604-681-7945 • F: 604-681-7947 • Email: info@bchealthcoalition.ca