Finding the Balance of Public and Private in Health Care
32nd Annual Health Policy Conference | March 5-6, 2020
What role the private sector plays in financing health care has been the subject of longstanding and intense debate in Canada. This debate has been the subject of major court battles, from Chaoulli in Quebec, to Allen in Alberta, and the Cambie trial in British Columbia. It has also been present in the ongoing discussions about the future of coverage for prescription drugs as National Pharmacare has again reappeared in the national discussion.
At the 2020 CHSPR Conference, we delved into the evidence under these debates. What evidence do we have on private financing? What remains to be known? What balance do other countries strike in these decisions?
Download the conference summary report
Program
Download a pdf version of the conference program. For available slides and video of presentations, click the link beside the speaker’s name below.
Day 1: Thursday, March 5
9:00 am | Welcome
Michael Law, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Coast Salish Elder Roberta Price, Snuneymuxw and Cowichan First Nations
9:15 am | Court Challenges to Canada’s Health Care Laws
Chair: Michael Law, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Understanding the current legal challenge to Medicare: Cambie Surgeries et al. v. the Attorney General of British Columbia
Speaker: BJ Wray, Counsel, Department of Justice Canada [Slides] [Video]
What light does post-Chaoulli Quebec shed on the Cambie trial?
Speaker: Damien Contandriopoulos, Professor and Associate Director of Research, School of Nursing, University of Victoria [Slides] [Video]
11:00 am | Public Policy in Light of The Charter
Chair: Sabrina Wong, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Cui Bono? Legitimacy, policy-making capacity, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Speaker: Steven Barrett, Managing Partner, Goldblatt Partners LLP
11:45 am | International Evidence on Private Financing
Chair: Morris Barer, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
The impact of parallel public and private finance on equity and access: What does the evidence say?
Speaker: Jeremiah Hurley, Professor, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University [Slides] [Video]
1:30 pm | International Experience and Design of Private Financing
Chair: Mark Harrison, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Are carrots and sticks enough to keep private insurance viable in Australia?
Speaker: Anne-marie Boxall, 2019-20 Australian Harkness Fellow, Columbia University
Hard work for government: Balancing public and private financing in Europe
Speaker: Sarah Thomson, Senior Health Financing Specialist, WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Strengthening [Slides] [Video]
3:15 pm | Regulating Private Finance
Chair: Kim McGrail, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
What comes next? Analyzing the options for BC and Canada should Cambie succeed
Speaker: Colleen M. Flood, Professor and Director, Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa [Video]
4:00 pm | Day One Closing
Chair: Karen Palmer, Simon Fraser University
At the heart of it all: Are Canadians still bothered by inequity?
Speaker: Sarah de Leeuw, Professor, University of Northern BC
4:45 pm | Poster session and reception
Day 2: Friday, March 6
9:00 am | Welcome and poster awards
9:15 am | The Future of Financing for Prescription Drugs and Dental Care
Chairs: Marilyn Parker, Patient Partner; Jason Sutherland, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
National Pharmacare: Rolling stone or mossy boulder?
Speaker: Fiona Clement, Associate Professor, O’Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary [Slides] [Video]
Solving a mystery: A tale of two cities and loose ends
Speaker: Carlos Quiñonez, Associate Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto
10:45 am | Closing Address
Chair: Karen Palmer, Simon Fraser University
The Canada Health Act: Fold, hold, or raise?
Speaker: The Honourable Jane Philpott, P.C., Former Member of Parliament and Special Advisor on Health, Nishnawbe Aski Nation [Video]
11:45 am | Wrap Up
Michael Law, Director, UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
1:45-4:15 pm | Post-conference Workshop
Moving towards a learning health care system in primary care in BC