This is a photo from the Calgary meeting of our "Seniors Deserve Better" tour. Thanks to everyone who attended and worked to make the tour a success so far.

Health report kept under wraps
Minister refuses immediate release of review

Michelle Lang
Calgary Herald
Saturday, September 27, 2008
A consultant hired to examine Alberta's $13-billion-a-year medical system as the province moves to overhaul health care has completed its preliminary work, leading to calls for any recommendations to be made public.

But Health Minister Ron Liepert refused Friday to discuss any details of McKinsey and Co.'s work, saying he would release the consultant's recommendations "in due course."
"They've come forward with some initial recommendations. We've taken a look . . . and are now working with Alberta Health Services board relative to implementation," said Liepert following a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Officials with Alberta Health Services, the organization that is taking over the delivery of medical care in the province, confirmed McKinsey and Co. provided a briefing on the findings of its review this week.

Groups such as Friends of Medicare and the United Nurses of Alberta said government should release the recommendations before making any further changes to the health system.
"It is totally inappropriate to be implementing what amounts to secret recommendations," said Heather Smith, president of the nurses' group.
"The continued behind-closed-door antics of this government simply contributes to instability and uncertainty in the health system."
The review comes as Liepert moves to revamp Alberta's medical system.
Last spring, he fired nine health region boards and consolidated them into a single, so-called superboard, the Alberta Health Services board, which is also responsible for cancer care and mental health.
In July, the minister said Alberta Health had hired McKinsey to conduct a review of health delivery services, saying the consultants see a system that "needs to become more efficient."
The province previously hired consultants Deloitte Inc. to conduct audits of rural care in Alberta. The Deloitte audits, released publicly in June, questioned the efficiencies of some small-town hospitals and suggested several could become seniors care centres.
Dave Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, agreed with the United Nurses of Alberta call for the McKinsey recommendations to be made public.
"We have commissioned this (review) with public finances," he said. "We deserve to see what's there."
Mark Kastner, a spokesman with Alberta Health Services, said it's premature to speculate on what the board will do with the McKinsey recommendations.
mlang@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2008

Private Copeman clinic greeted with protestOwner says his company doesn't violate Canada Health Act September 25, 2008 by Jeremy Klaszus in News
The grand opening of the controversial Copeman Healthcare Centre in downtown Calgary September 22 was marked by a host of protesters who condemned the private operation as a violation of the Canada Health Act.
Before the protest, the Friends of Medicare held a news conference where executive director and former Alberta NDP MLA David Eggen outlined the organization’s concerns about the clinic. Eggen cited the shortage of medical professionals in Alberta, and said the federal and provincial governments haven’t shown leadership on “where our public health system is going to go…. How is it possible that a private clinic would open in the city of Calgary, right here in Stephen Harper’s backyard, without having somehow the tacit approval of the government to do so?” Eggen called on the federal and provincial health ministers to investigate the clinic.
Don Copeman, the clinic’s owner and founder, also attended the news conference, and it didn’t take long for medicare activists and federal election candidates to get in his face, shouting “health not wealth” and accusing him of poaching doctors from the public system for profit. Teale Phelps-Bondaroff, the NDP candidate for Calgary West, confronted Copeman and told him he was “only providing a service for the rich and those who can pay you.” Copeman, however, said that’s not the case. “The people that come to our clinic aren’t all rich — at all,” Copeman said. “The people that come to our clinic have one thing in common, and that is that they care about their health care and they’re willing to invest in it.”
The Copeman Centre sells memberships in its “elite program” for $3,900 per adult in the first year, and $2,900 for each year afterwards. The fees are tax-deductible. Copeman told reporters his clinics (the original Copeman Centre is in Vancouver) centralize different services instead of sending patients to kinesiologists and dietitians around the city. “All we’re doing is we’re bringing all those professionals together under one roof and under one plan,” said Copeman. “That’s better health care. That’s an innovation.”Copeman also requested that the Friends of Medicare stop saying his clinics violate the Canada Health Act. “We’ve spent a lot of time making sure we don’t violate any principles of the Canada Health Act, let alone the letter of the law,” said Copeman, adding that he’s “also a defender of medicare” who wants to see a strong public system.

Protesters oppose private clinic
Questions raised about legality of $4,000 fees

Michelle Lang
Calgary Herald
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A vocal group of protesters demonstrated as a pricey private medical clinic began operating Monday in Calgary, leading to confrontations with the facility's owner and calls for an investigation into the clinic's legality.
At a rally outside of the Copeman Healthcare Centre, pro-medicare protesters held signs and yelled slogans like "Health not wealth," referring to the clinic's fees of nearly $4,000 in the first year and almost $3,000 annually thereafter.
Don Copeman, the Vancouver businessman who founded the clinic, attended the demonstration and faced tough questions about whether he is profiting at the expense of Canada's public health system.
One angry woman said she was protesting because the private facility recruited her doctor of 16 years, leaving her without a family physician.
"It sucks," said Noreen Branagh. "I can't afford the $4,000, and there are no family doctors in Calgary."
But Copeman said he opened the clinics, in part, to improve the country's ailing health system, arguing his facilities have lured physicians out of retirement. He added the clinics have also recruited doctors from the U.S.
"I'm a huge fan of medicare," said Copeman, speaking to protesters at a press conference before the rally.
"Primary care is in a crisis. At least I've gotten up and done something about it."
Copeman Healthcare opened its first clinic in Vancouver three years ago to a storm of controversy.
The new Calgary clinic, the company's second location, will offer an "elite program" of medical care for its members, including a full health assessment and a preventative health plan.
Family doctors also see patients at the clinic and bill the provincial government for any medically necessary treatments.
Friends of Medicare, the group that organized Monday's protest, alleged the clinic's annual fees are infringing on the Canada Health Act and provincial laws, which prohibit charging patients for medically necessary procedures.
Dave Eggen, executive director of the group, called on Ottawa and the provincial government to investigate the new clinic.
"We want to make sure the integrity of our public health system is intact," he said.
"I want an assurance that someone who goes to the clinic will receive treatment regardless of their ability to pay."
The Alberta NDP went further, saying the clinic practises "queue jumping" and should be shut down.
"The Copeman clinic checks your wallet before it checks your pulse, and that's no way to run a health care system in Canada," said NDP Leader Brian Mason, in a statement.
Copeman, however, defended the company's billing practices, saying they meet all government requirements.
He said the clinic's annual fees only cover services like nutrition counselling and sports medicine not covered by the public health system.
"We aren't charging for anything people haven't been paying for," said Copeman.
He added that physicians at the clinic will see patients who don't pay the annual fees -- if the doctors have time in their schedules.
At this point, it appears the province has no plans to review the clinic's legality.
Alberta Health officials say they will investigate the Copeman clinic if someone lodges a complaint and has evidence of patients being charged for medically necessary services.
Health Canada representatives did not return phone calls Monday.
In 2006, B.C.'s health minister called an investigation into whether Copeman Healthcare was operating within provincial public health care laws.
The B.C. Medical Services Commission conducted an audit of the Vancouver clinic and cleared it of any problems, finding no evidence of extra billing or enhanced services related to the fees.
mlang@theherald.canwest

Public medicare proponents clash with private clinic owner BILL KAUFMANN


Pro-medicare activists clashed today with the owner of a new private health clinic that’s just opened its doors in downtown Calgary.
Don Copeman, founder of Copeman Health Centre, attended a Friends of Medicare press conference where he verbally jousted with advocates who at one point tried to shout him down.
“I think you’re an angry man who doesn’t want to listen,” Copeman told FOR member Mel Teghtmeyer, who accused the new clinic of siphoning off physicians from the public system.
One FOR banner stated the clinic violated the Canada Health Act, though group spokesman David Eggen only called for it to be thoroughly investigated while noting a commission in B.C. has given Copeman’s Vancouver facility a clean bill of health.
“We haven’t seen the full result of that ruling — certainly the jury is still out in B.C.,” said Eggen.
Copeman said he took offence to the assertion his Calgary clinic — which provides unlimited care to patients paying $3,900 for an initial year — is a breach of medicare.
“Please don’t say it’s a violation of the Act — it’s slanderous,” he said as FOR members began chanting “health, not wealth.”
About two dozen placard-waving protestors which included NDP and Liberal federal election candidates then marched to Coleman’s clinic on 12 Ave. and 6 St. S.W.
Eggen said the new facility is symbolic of Ottawa losing control of the health care system.
“They’ve allowed the provinces to do what they may,” he said.
“I want an assurance that anyone can go to the Copeman clinic regardless of their ability to pay.”
But Copeman said his facility actually complements the public system by attracting doctors and taking the pressure off traditional hospitals.
And he accused the activists of merely complaining without offering solutions.
“At lease I’ve gotten up and done something about it,” he said, adding a substandard medicare system has given birth to clinics like his.
Calgarian Noreen Branagh, however, said her family physician of 16 years has been lured away by Copeman.
“I’ve been left without my family doctor...it bothers me that the system as it is leaves these doctors no choice but to do this,” said Branagh.

Costly health care 'average'

Michelle Lang
Calgary Herald
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Alberta spends more than any other province on health care, but has a mediocre medical system burdened by long wait times for treatment and a shortage of physicians, according to a new study.
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy, a Winnipeg-based think-tank, released a report Tuesday that ranks Alberta's health system fifth among provinces, citing problems such as poor access to new medications and high infant mortality rates.
Ontario's health system received the best ranking in the study, followed by British Columbia and Nova Scotia. The study authors concluded the best health systems aren't necessarily the most expensive, noting the top three performers were below-average spenders.
Alberta spends about $3,300 per person annually on health care, the highest per capita health tab in Canada, according to the report.
"There isn't a strong relationship between spending and quality," said Rebecca Walberg, director of health policy at the Frontier Centre.
"Alberta spends a great deal for average health care."

Walberg said the results suggest provinces like Alberta are spending enough money on health care and should consider changing the way they pay for the system. For instance, she argues the province should scrap the current system where hospitals receive a yearly budget in favour of an incentive-based system where facilities are paid for the services they provide.

But public health-care advocates said governments should improve the system by training more health professionals and building hospitals, not changing funding models.
"(The Frontier Centre's) leap to a consumer based system for financing hospitals is code word for privatization," said Dave Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare. "If you have a high infant mortality rate, you're not going to be able to shop or choose your way out of that."

At least one independent observer said a complex set of factors such as a population's lifestyle and income levels will have more influence on its overall health than spending.
"Some countries spend enormous amounts on health care, like the U.S., and their health indicators are almost always worse than Canada's," said Dr. Tom Noseworthy, a University of Calgary health policy expert.
mlang@theherald.canwest.com

Consumer "Choice": You can't shop your way out of this one!

Frontier Centre’s Health Study Critique

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy & Health Consumer Powerhouse released their Canada Health Consumer Index 2008 Report on the state of health care in Canada’s provinces.

While the results of this analysis are interesting, the leap the Frontier Centre makes from their findings to their recommendations exposes their bias to promote private health care delivery.

The indicators that the study found wanting in this province are well known to Albertans. We have a serious problem accessing doctors in Alberta, our access to surgery and cancer treatments is unacceptably long, and our infant mortality rates are shocking and embarrassing for a wealthy society such as ours.

However, the Frontier Centre’s conclusion that more “consumer choice” would solve these problems for Alberta or any other province is an entirely irrelevant leap in logic that doesn’t address the core issues that require reform.

How can consumers choose their way out of the doctor and health care worker shortage? How can we “shop around” and deal with our infant mortality rates which are largely a product of poverty and neglect?

“Albertans can’t shop and choose their way out of these fundamental problems in our health care system,” said David Eggen, Executive Director for Friends of Medicare, “They require a long term commitment to build up our public health care capacity.”


Again, the Frontier Centre’s recommendation that provincial governments adopt performance based funding for hospitals is an entirely inappropriate and baffling analysis of their data. Acute Care Facilities need to reflect the requirements of human health and the community to which they serve. Timely, quality treatment for all residents of the community is meant to be the goal.
Performance based funding as being promoted by the Frontier Centre is regressive and driven more by those who seek to privatize our public health care system, and very little to do with progressive reform.

Copeman Opening Private Clinic in Calgary

Friends of
Medicare

On Monday, September 22nd Don Copeman will try to open a private health clinic in Calgary. Copeman has been operating similar clinics in British Columbia, where they have been in clear violation of the Canada Health Act. Friends of Medicare is assembling a coalition of groups to demand the provincial and federal governments take action to ensure that this clinic will not break the law.
Copeman clinic has been operating a controversial private clinic for three years in Vancouver. Customers at this clinic pay a fee of $3,900 up front and an annual fee of $2,900 to access doctors, nurses and therapists. In addition to this income, doctors at the Copeman clinic bill the Medical Services Plan, which is BC’s public health fund.
Under the Medicare Protection Act in BC and the Canada Health Act, doctors who have “opted in” and receive payments from the public purse may not charge for any service normally paid for through public insurance. Gordon Campbell’s government has let Copeman get away with this so far, although the battle is far from over in that province.

Friends of Medicare is demanding that the provincial and federal governments conduct a full and transparent investigation of the Copeman clinic. We will press forward this message on the opening day of the clinic on September 22nd. (Interestingly, Copeman has pushed back the opening of the clinic twice now, but we will press ahead with this action even if he cancels again).

The details of this action are as follows:
Press conference: Monday, September 22 @ 10:00 am
Tivoli Room, Danish Canadian Club, 727 – 11 Avenue SW, Calgary

Parking is available at the club. At the press conference, we will have a commitment for federal candidates to sign. This is a commitment to uphold the Canada Health Act, particularly the parts about universal coverage regardless of income and accessibility to all residents regardless of income.

March to Copeman clinic: 10:40 am (approximately). The clinic site is 1.5 blocks from the Danish Canadian Club. We encourage participants to bring signs, banners, and in particular pots or pans to bang on. We will make a lot of noise to get Copeman’s (and Calgary’s and Canada’s) attention. We will stage a short demonstration at the Copeman site (5th Street & 12th Avenue) and be done by 11:30 am.


Friends of Medicare is inviting anyone who is concerned about the erosion of our Public Health system to attend. Invitations will be extended to all candidates in the Calgary area
to come sign our committment to help defend the Canada Health Act.




David Eggen, FOM Executive Director

email: fominfo@telus.net

Health Care changes could reduce Bow Valley services

from the Rocky Mountain Outlook Aug 28 2008

Tanya Foubert

The Bow Valley's combined health care services, split between two hospitals just 20 km. apart, are not safe from potential provincial cutbacks when Alberta's heal;th care system drastically changes its governance system.

That was one message delivered by Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen in Canmore Tuesday (August 26) night to meet with local residents.

Eggen said area residents need to be paying attention to what is happening at the provincial level.

"There are a lot of uncertainties in the public health system in Alberta right now," Eggen said. " I would be concerned about losing services in the Bow valley to one hospital."

In April this year the provincial government announced it would be amalgamating the nine provincial health regions, the Alberta Mental Board, Alberta Cancer board and Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission into one mega-board operating out of Edmonton.

That kind of power shift, said Eggen, has the government looking for efficiencies, which includes the regionalization of services and centralization of decision making.

"What people in the Bow valley should be concerned about is losing control of decision making locally." he said.

While in Canmore Eggen met with the new Bow Valley chapter of the Friends of Medicare non-profit society, which promotes universal health care, equality and efficiency wih in the system.

Local lawyer Anne Wilson is heading up the effort here after being asked by Eggen if she was interested last month.

"I agreed it was an excellent idea because after the last election the Tories are after putting in their agenda of cutting public services and Medicare is where they are going to start. " I think there is not so much a specific plan as there is a certain attitude they will put in place."

She agreed residents need to be concerned about possible cuts locally out of the formation of the Alberta Health Services board.

Eggen said the Canmore Hospital is important because it offers services to local residents and the surrounding areas.

"Not only is your hospital important for the Bow Valley but I think it helps to alleviate the pressures in the whole region with all the high occupancy and bed shortaqges in Calgary., he said. "I would like to put it to the people of Canmore: what would they like to their public health care service to be doing here, not just now but for the next ten years?"

Eggen said that despite the fact Premier Ed Stelmach has said he will not pursue Ralph Klein's so called "third way", Albertans should still be conerned about pressure to privatize health care.

He said there is a profit to be made in privatization and the pressure on provincial politicians from those looking to cash in re surfaces every few years.

"We are experiencing a shortage of doctors and medical professionals across the province and country", he said. "Private clinics remove more professionals from the public system."

"I think our system is a measure of what kind of society we are, not just as Albertans but as Canadians. It is a sense of community and a sense of looking after one another, and who amoung us does not need help sometimes?"

Eggen said a private system would put insurance companies in the driver's seat and their numbe one priority is managing risk. That means anyone with a predisposition to such things as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer would suffer.

He also agreed that line of thought could be extended to all recreational activities that have certain levels of risk attached to them, including many of the wilderness pursuits locals and visitors enjoy.

In addition to fighting moves to privatize Alberta's health care system, Eggen said it is also the role of his group to advocate for a better system of health care because the one we have now is far from perfect.

He said there are ways for Alberta's system to sabve money, such as the purchase of prescription medicines. If the province were to use economies of scale to buy pharmaceuticals, one of the most expensive aspects of health care, it could save taxpayers dollars.

As well, there are thingsnot currently covered in the system that he would like to see included, like dental care, better mental health services, preventative medicine and long term care.

Kevin Usselman
Patients shell out more for health care


September 10, 2008 - 12:25 pm Kevin Usselman
660news,"homepage"

Our health is costing us extra. Like many other medical services, doctors are now asking their patients to pay for un-insured extras such as doctors notes, phone advice and wart removal.

The average cost for the extra coverage for a family is about $130 which has many groups, including Friends of Medicare, saying it's just another step forward for privatization of our health system.

Friends of Medicare's Dave Eggen tells 660News who is afraid many won't be able to afford the new fees and is encouraging people to speak out against pay per service practice. He says we already pay more than enough for the services we do have and feels doctors need to manage their costs better without charging any extra fees.

Eggen points out that the Copeman Centre, which plans to open later this month in Calgary, will be asking their patients to pay thousands of dollars for its premium care package.
However, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta says doctors are allowed to ask for additional cash for things that are not covered under Alberta Health.

Eggen reminds us doctors are legally bound to treat us even if we cannot afford to pay for extra services. However for many, the thought of those extra fees may have us feeling ill about that trip to the doctor.

Alberta must take steps to head off crisis in seniors care
Downloading costs onto individuals and families is not the way to go

Noel Somerville
The Edmonton Journal
Monday, September 08, 2008
To mark Grandparents Day, Sept. 8, I would suggest that baby boomers think very seriously about what the Alberta government has in store for them as they become seniors.
The demographics of an aging population have been known for decades. In 2011, the first of the baby boomers will turn 65. The number of seniors in Alberta is expected to increase by 40 per cent in the next 10 years and will double today's number in less than 20 years.
This knowledge has in fact been the basis of government action for many years -- action to divest itself of responsibility for seniors' care. Using the spectre of supposed unsustainability, the government has been systematically transferring that responsibility to the private sector and ultimately onto seniors and their families, as the paying consumers of these care services.
Immediately after his swearing-in on Dec. 14, 2006, Premier Ed Stelmach published the priorities that each of his ministers was to address. Among other things, the Minister of Seniors and Community Supports was to "establish a Demographic Planning Commission to provide analysis and proposals to prepare for the needs of an aging population and ensure facilities and supports are available for seniors."
A full 17 months elapsed before the Commission was established on May 29, 2008. The commission is chaired by MLA George VanderBurg and consists of seven other members, mostly academics. Despite the long delay in its appointment, the commission was expected to rush its work over the summer and report its findings by the fall of 2008.
To accomplish this task, the commission operated a poorly advertised website that closed down on Aug. 31 and held a series of meetings around the province with invited "stakeholders." Invitees were provided a rather superficial discussion paper quantifying the coming "tsunami" of aging baby boomers and focusing on the question of "who should pay."
After requesting an invitation, I was one of 36 participants who attended the July 9 meeting in Edmonton. Personally, I found the session to be scattered, lacking in focus, and far from what I consider an authentic or effective public consultation. We were never allowed to come to grips with the major shortcomings of Alberta's current continuing care system, surely a logical starting point for future planning.
For example, consider the critical issue of long-term care for seniors. The standard measure of the availability of long-term care (LTC) facilities is the number of LTC beds per 1,000 seniors age 75 or older.
Alberta government data show that, 20 years ago, Alberta had 105 LTC beds per 1,000 seniors age 75 plus but, by 2007, Alberta's ratio had dropped to 67.3 LTC beds per 1,000 seniors age 75 plus. This huge drop has been part of a concerted government effort to download the cost of seniors care onto seniors themselves or their families.
By contrast, a recent article in the Regina Leader Post reports that the current Canadian average is 96 LTC beds per 1,000 seniors age 75 plus, and Saskatchewan has 110 LTC beds per 1,000 seniors age 75 plus.
Alberta's lack of long-term care facilities, along with the inadequacy of homecare to support the government's "aging in place" strategy, means that many frail and cognitively impaired seniors are stranded at home or in supportive living facilities where care simply is not available or, if it is, it has to be purchased -- if you can afford it. When something goes wrong, such as a fall or an infection, the only recourse is to the nearest emergency room and a protracted period in an acute care bed -- an infinitely more expensive option.
While the government denies that it is moving to an American style health-care system, it has in fact been moving steadily toward an American style, private, for-profit seniors care system where costs of $5,000 per month are common.
This is a pivotal time for the future of seniors and their families. What Albertans need most is for the commission to look deeply at the current crisis in seniors care and not to prescribe more privatization based on false claims about the unsustainability of the system.
There is still time for the commission to get it right, and I would like to suggest the following principles that should guide Alberta's planning for an aging population policy framework:
- The basic purpose of our health-care system is to provide citizens with necessary medical services, regardless of
age, on the basis of need, not ability to pay.
- For seniors who are physically frail or cognitively impaired, the personal care they require is a medically necessary service.
- All Alberta seniors have a right to age with dignity, respect and freedom from physical, mental or financial harm.
- The dignity and well-being of seniors is a concern not just of individuals and their families, but is also a matter of public interest and responsibility.
Noel Somerville is Chair of the Seniors Task Force for Public Interest Alberta, which will be holding a series of forums on seniors care this fall. For details see www.pialberta.org.
© The Edmonton Journal 2008

Superboard appointment cleared in ethics review
Decision shows rules are toothless, critics say

Michelle Lang
Calgary Herald
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Alberta's ethics commissioner has cleared former deputy health minister Paddy Meade of allegations she was in a conflict after accepting a job with the province's medical superboard -- leading critics to say new legislation governing the area is toothless.
Commissioner Don Hamilton's investigation focused on whether Meade's appointment broke regulations, introduced this spring, that restrict deputy ministers from accepting jobs with provincial agencies immediately after they leave their government department.
In a 15-page ruling, Hamilton approved Meade's decision to quit her deputy minister position for an executive job with Alberta Health Services, saying she is "not in contravention of the regulation."
The Alberta Liberals said Friday the provincial conflict of interest legislation -- which calls for a six-month cooling off period before deputy ministers go to a government agency -- has failed its first test.
"The regulation has a legal loophole bigger than a lasso," said Hugh MacDonald, the Edmonton Liberal MLA who asked the commissioner to investigate the appointment.
But Health Minister Ron Liepert said he agrees with the commissioner's ruling. He argued the conflict of interest regulations were intended to prevent deputy ministers from using inside knowledge as government lobbyists, not restrict them from taking new jobs.
"It was never to preclude them from making moves that are in the public interest," said Liepert.
The conflict ruling follows Liepert's decision in May to dissolve the regional health authority boards and appoint a single agency to deliver health care in the province.

"We're very pleased the commissioner has found there is no breach of ethics in hiring Paddy Meade," said Mark Kastner, a spokesman for the superboard.
But Hamilton said he is concerned that officials did not consider the new provincial conflict of interest regulations when offering Meade the job. He also noted the province did not prepare educational materials to advise deputy ministers of the rules after the legislation was passed in the spring.
While the commissioner cleared the appointment, a health care lobby group said there could still be a public perception of a conflict because Meade was a high-level official at Alberta Health, which helped create the organization where she now works.
"Conceivably, she could have built herself into the job," said Dave Eggen with Friends of Medicare.
mlang@theherald.canwest.com

Start a Pharmacare Plan Now!

National plan for exotic drugs unlikely: minister
Treatments for rare illnesses can cost up to $1M a year

Michelle Lang
Calgary Herald
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Canadians who suffer from rare diseases are calling for a long-awaited national orphan drug strategy as provincial health ministers gather in Quebec City this week, but Alberta's minister is not optimistic they will reach a deal.

Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert agreed a national strategy for drugs to treat rare diseases is important, particularly as the province moves ahead with developing a new pharmaceutical policy.

However, Liepert predicted the ministers may not reach an agreement when they meet because of an expected federal election call that may prevent federal Health Minister Tony Clement from attending the talks.
"We've felt right along it should be led by the feds," said Liepert.
"In the absence of any real movement there, we'll have to do something on our own."
Provincial health ministers, who are meeting on Thursday and Friday, have been discussing the need for an orphan drug policy since patients with rare diseases began lobbying for assistance in 2005.

In Pare's case, her teenage son Trevor was taking the drug Myozyme to treat his Pompe disease -- a therapy that would have cost the family $773,000 annually.
For years, Trevor received Myozyme for free as part of a clinical trial and when the trial was coming to an end in May, the Alberta government stepped in to pick up the tab. But Pare said many families aren't so lucky.
"It's a miracle to have a treatment for a rare disease," she said. "When you can't afford it, it's not right."

Groups like Friends of Medicare also argued Tuesday the ministers should reach an agreement on a national strategy for orphan drugs, arguing provinces could save cash by pooling their resources and buying the medications in bulk.
"Every time we fail to make new agreements on this we lose money," said Dave Eggen, executive director of the association.

Alberta is in the midst of creating its own pharmaceutical strategy that will address everything from orphan drugs to the provincial approval process for medications.
Liepert said this week the province is in the "late stages" of pulling together the strategy. The minister said he has to take the plan to the Tory caucus and cabinet before anything is finalized, likely within the next three months.

"It would be beneficial if we were to blend it with the national strategy," he said.
mlang@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2008