November 28, 2002 
**For Immediate Release**
 From the Canadian Women’s Health Network

Reading Romanow on Women’s Health

Now is the Time for Governments to Reinvest in Medicare

The Romanow Report on the Future of Health Care is clear: Canadians want a 
publicly funded health system that is universally accessible and offers 
equal and timely service to all. The Report also documents that such a 
system, built on the successes of Medicare and augmenting its role in 
publicly provided health services, is possible with provincial and federal 
cooperation.

“Implementation of the Romanow Report is now the key issue”, says Madeline 
Boscoe, Executive Director of the Canadian Women’s Health Network (CWHN). 
“Romanow has provided a good first step for sustaining a publicly insured 
health care system that addresses the diverse health needs of Canadians -- 
now we need to see swift government action on the Romanow recommendations”.
The CWHN applauds the Report’s emphasis on access to health care for those 
living in rural and remote areas, on holistic approaches to aboriginal 
health, on the health needs of new Canadians and visible minorities, and an 
expanded national homecare program. “But women have been left out of the 
equation”, Boscoe observes, noting that women represent the majority of paid 
health providers, and also provide the bulk of unpaid caregiving in 
communities and homes. As well, women are the most frequent users of health 
care services, yet women’s specific health needs do not receive 
comprehensive assessment in the Romanow report. This failure to 
appropriately address gender differences in health care use and delivery 
means that many of the recommendations in the Report fail to protect and 
promote women’s health, leaving women vulnerable and without the necessary 
support.

Abby Lippman, Professor of Epidemiology at McGill University and Co-Chair of 
the CWHN notes, for example, that the Report’s recommendations on a national 
prescription drug program do not go far enough, addressing only acute health 
care requirements, “To meet the needs of most women more than ‘catastrophic’ 
situations must be covered in a comprehensive pharmacare program”.

The CWHN also believes that the report fails to focus meaningfully on 
measures that address health promotion and disease prevention, highlighting 
only methods of treatment and intervention, which are often costly and 
inefficient. Lippman states that “while we welcome attention to the 
provision of primary care, this seems to assume preventive approaches based 
on changes by individuals rather than on structural changes that will 
promote the diverse health needs of all women in Canada”. Lippman also 
notes that the report does not address the impact of economic and social 
disparities on individual health status, “Government programs and policies 
should require health impact assessments and programs that address 
structural inequities”, Lippman concludes.

The CWHN believes that a renewed vision of healthcare must reflect and 
support the principles of equity and social justice for all Canadians, and 
strongly endorses the general recommendations of the Romanow Report. “A 
renewed commitment to access based on need and not on the ability to pay is 
an essential component of the Romanow Commission findings”, Boscoe notes, 
“and it is one that is wholly supported by the Canadian Women’s Health 
Network. The time for action is now”.

To see the complete CWHN “Submission to the Commission on the Future of 
Health Care in Canada” visit: 
http://www.cwhn.ca/resources/romanow/index.html

For interviews, contact:
Madeline Boscoe, Executive Director 
Canadian Women’s Health Network 
Phone: (204) 952-9784 
Or (204) 942-5500 ext. 11 
Email: [log in to unmask] 
Website: http://www.cwhn.ca

Prof. Abby Lippman, Co-Chair 
Canadian Women’s Health Network 
Phone: (514) 398-6266 
Email: [log in to unmask] 
Website: http://www.cwhn.ca

Kathleen O’Grady, Director of Communications 
Canadian Women’s Health Network 
Email: [log in to unmask] 
Phone: (514) 886-2526; Fax: (204) 989-2355 
Website: http://www.cwhn.ca

The Canadian Women’s Health Network is a national, voluntary bilingual 
organization of individuals and groups concerned with women’s health.

Mona Dupré-Ollinik, BSW, BA
Coordonatrice de liaison/Outreach Coordinator
Canadian Women's Health Network/Réseau canadien pour la santé des femmes
419, avenue Graham, Suite 203
Winnipeg (MB) R3C 0M3

Tel: (204) 942-5500 ext,/poste 13
Fax/Télécopieur: (204) 989-2355
Toll free/Numéro sans frais: 1-888-818-9172
www.cwhn.ca 
e-mail/courriel: [log in to unmask]

TTY 204-942-2806 
TTY toll free number 1-866-694-6367

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