with apologies for cross postings..


>Subject: Special Medicare Update (September 25, 2003)
>
>Special Medicare Update
>Canadian Health Coalition (Medicare.ca)
>September 25, 2003
>
>============================================================================
>===
>
>MEMO TO CANADIANS
>
>From:   Michael McBane (for the Canadian Health Coalition)
>Re:       Health Council Nomination Process
>Date:    September 25, 2003
>
>Sept. 25, 2003 -- Health Canada (HC) called a number of health sector
>organizations to a briefing this morning on
>the proposed National Health Council. I attended on behalf of the Canadian
>Health Coalition (CHC).
>
>The nomination process was explained and will be announced later today via a
>Health Canada press release/press
>conference. The nomination process goes like this:
>
>1. The mandate is as stated in the First Ministers Accord of Feb. 2003.
>    (Quebec has its own Council)
>
>2. The membership be comprised of:
>   a. Chair (selected by First Ministers)
>   b. 13 government reps (selected by each government)
>   c. 13 non-government reps (selected by government)
>   d. NGO reps will be divided between experts and public candidates
>
>3. HC is launching a public nomination process for the selection of
>    NGO reps but there can be up to 13 separate nomination processes.
>
>4. HC is suggesting that 4 names for each NGO position be selected from
>    the nominations to be put into a list of 52.
>
>5. F/P/T ministers will then agree on a slate of 13 names from this list.
>
>6.Governments can nominate 13 reps
>
>7.Nomination deadline is October 10th!!! The next Premiers Meeting is
>October
>24th
>
>8. There is no agreement on the Chair, but the feds are nominating Michael
>Decter of CIHI.
>
>9. The Chair and the members are all part time and paid on a per diem basis.
>    The terms are 2 and 3 years (renewable once).
>
>
>SUGGESTED ACTION:
>
>The nominations process is designed to make sure the Health Council has no
>independence and does not play the role recommended by Romanow.
>
>Alberta is leading the way to sabotage the process with the cooperation of
>the
>current Health Minister Anne McLellan.
>
>The process allows for the nomination of 13 government bureaucrats and gives
>the premiers control of the remaining 13 NGO reps as well.
>
>This will guarantee the Health Council has no independence and they will be
>in
>place to ensure it is ineffective.
>
>There is a provision to terminate the Council after 3 years following a
>review
>of its effectiveness. In other words it is being set up to fail.
>
>In light of the fact that Federal/Provincial/Territorial governments have
>failed to establish a process to create what Romanow called for an
>independent
>Health Council, I am proposing that the CHC and member organizations
>respond to
>the announcement by strongly denouncing the process.
>
>Our message should be that the process is unacceptable to Canadians.
>
>It is better to get a process that will produce an independent Health
>Council
>that serves the public interest than process with a process designed to
>sabotage our objectives.
>
>We can all call for an independent nominating committee comprising a small
>number of eminent Canadians who are trusted and believe in Medicare (Bégin,
>Blakeney, Kent, etc.).
>
>The Eminent Persons Committee would receive all nominations for all the
>positions and present a slate to first ministers based on the objective of
>independence, equity, expertise, geography, guardianship, sectoral
>expertise,
>etc.
>
>This will probably mean we have to wait for a new federal Minister of Health
>who actually believes in Medicare, in order to get the federal leadership
>required to establish a national Health Council that can hold all
>governments
>to account&
>
>If we come out with a strong and clear rejection of the process, we can then
>assess the reaction and see if they are going to proceed anyway.
>
>If they do we need to strategize about whether we participate and how.
>
>Look forward to hearing from you on how best to proceed.
>
>
>Mike McBane
>For the Canadian Health Coalition

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