Alberta Health seems to be going from bad to worse ever since they managed to jettison any local control and centralise the system in a Super Board. All Stelmach needs is more unpopular policies to make sure the Conservatives drop even lower in the polls. This is from this site.
Cutback plan dropped overnight
By Archie McLean,
EDMONTON — A plan to save $70,000 a year by taking free toiletries and snacks away from mentally ill patients was overturned by the Alberta government Saturday in a hasty flurry of goodwill.
"Something like this only adds to the feelings of stress and uncertainty that both patients and families are feeling right now," Fred Horne, MLA for Edmonton-Rutherford, said about the new cost-saving measures at Alberta Hospital Edmonton.
"It will be rescinded immediately."
Horne first learned of the policy by reading Saturday's Journal. He then spoke by phone to Health Minister Ron Liepert, a member of the premier's office staff and finally Alberta Health Services president and CEO Stephen Duckett, who was asked to kill the plan.
The policy was supposed to save $70,000 for the government by eliminating free items such as toothbrushes, face soap, feminine hygiene products, razors and nail clippers, as well as coffee and snacks for patients who live at the hospital.
...A spokeswoman for Alberta Health Services on Friday described the move as "part of aligning and standardizing our supplies across the province."
Horne is the premier's representative on a committee currently looking at how to implement the closure of 246 acute care beds at the hospital in northeast Edmonton. He expressed regret on behalf of the committee.
"We want patients and their families to know that they're at the centre of this process," Horne said.
NDP Leader Brian Mason said the flip-flop means the government is sensitive to recent polls showing their support falling across the province. He said the original policy was petty, small and unsurprising, given the government's approach to cutting spending.
The senior's ministry recently announced a $6-million clawback of funding to agencies that support people with developmental disabilities.
"They always turn on the most vulnerable among us," Mason said.
..Swann said the change of course raises questions about who is making policy, when a backbench MLA is able to reverse AHS policy with a few phone calls.
The Liberals have been calling all fall for Health Minister Ron Liepert to resign over his handling of the province's health reforms and the H1N1 vaccination program.
Austin Mardon, a prominent mental health patient activist who also has schizophrenia, applauded the government for acting so quickly to reverse the policy.
amclean@thejournal.canwest.com
Showing posts with label Ron Liepert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Liepert. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Liepert: Alberta ''pretty sloppy society"
This is from the Calgary Herald.
This is the same guy who hired a high profile Conservative to hunt for board members for his giant new Health Board.
If the cure for health problems and costs is to cut income, perhaps Liepert should have his income cut along with the highest paid executives in the Health Dept. As I understand it, delisting services would be quite limited because the Canada Health Act would not allow it. Anyway this would be cost shifting rather than cost saving. Liepert seems to be more concerned about cutting the growth of any democratic control over the system as much as he is concerned about costs. Otherwise, why would he not commit to bulk drug buying as other provinces such as Manitoba have. I guess his friends in the pharmaceutical industry do not like the idea.
Saturday » November 29 » 2008
Alberta 'pretty sloppy society,' says Liepert
Tough times will be good for our health
Renata D'Aliesio
Calgary Herald
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A squeeze on disposable income as the economy nosedives could lead to healthier lifestyle choices, the province's health minister suggests, including fewer addictions and less obesity.
Speaking to the Canadian Club of Calgary on Friday, Ron Liepert said the financial high of the past 10 to 15 years has spawned a "pretty sloppy society."
"Somehow we've got to get Albertans to accept more personal responsibility for their behaviour," he said.
"I guess I'm hopeful that if people don't have the money to spend on Jolt and booze and everything else, maybe they won't become quite as addicted."
Less prosperity may also lower Albertans' expectations of what services should be covered under the public health-care system, added Liepert, who's leading the Alberta government's major over-haul of the medical regime.
"We're going to have some tough decisions to make in the budget coming next year and I think people are going to start to say, 'OK, maybe government shouldn't be covering everything,' " the health minister said after his speech.
Liepert's comments, which Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann labelled as "blame-the-victim" mentality, come as more health care changes are set to roll out.
On Monday, the province is unveiling a new plan broadly outlining the government's medical reforms. The plan will focus on sustainability of the medical system, whose costs have ballooned to $13.4 billion from$4.6 billion in 1998. However, the thorny issue of delisting services will not be addressed then, Liepert said.
Several other health announcements are planned, as the province's Dec. 15 deadline for this year's reforms looms.
A new continuing care strategy and pharmaceutical plan are on the horizon. Liepert said the pharmaceutical initiative will mention drugs for rare diseases, but a bulk-buying drug plan isn't yet in the cards. The Alberta government currently spends $1.2 billion annually on prescription drugs.
The province's medical reforms, which included dissolving nine health boards and creating a single entity, have sparked unease among opposition parties.
Swann said health professionals worry they're not being consulted. The new 15-member Alberta Health Services board includes just one physician.
"He's done none of this on the basis of evidence," said Swann, who took in Liepert's speech.
A former family doctor and medical officer of health, Swann pointed to Liepert's comments on the possible health benefits of an economic downturn as an example. Swann said problems such as drug addictions, sexually transmitted illnesses and obesity are fuelled by myriad factors.
"That's a blame-the-victim approach that has been consistent in the Conservative ideology," Swann said. "They fail to see the social conditions that are creating the conditions in which people are making poor choices."
Calgary dietitian Sarah Remmer also isn't certain less disposable income will lead to healthier food choices. "A lot of people eat fast food because it's inexpensive," said Remmer, adding studies have shown people living in lower-income communities are more overweight or obese.
rdaliesio@tHeHerald.Canwest.Com
© The Calgary Herald 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
ed.
This is the same guy who hired a high profile Conservative to hunt for board members for his giant new Health Board.
If the cure for health problems and costs is to cut income, perhaps Liepert should have his income cut along with the highest paid executives in the Health Dept. As I understand it, delisting services would be quite limited because the Canada Health Act would not allow it. Anyway this would be cost shifting rather than cost saving. Liepert seems to be more concerned about cutting the growth of any democratic control over the system as much as he is concerned about costs. Otherwise, why would he not commit to bulk drug buying as other provinces such as Manitoba have. I guess his friends in the pharmaceutical industry do not like the idea.
Saturday » November 29 » 2008
Alberta 'pretty sloppy society,' says Liepert
Tough times will be good for our health
Renata D'Aliesio
Calgary Herald
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A squeeze on disposable income as the economy nosedives could lead to healthier lifestyle choices, the province's health minister suggests, including fewer addictions and less obesity.
Speaking to the Canadian Club of Calgary on Friday, Ron Liepert said the financial high of the past 10 to 15 years has spawned a "pretty sloppy society."
"Somehow we've got to get Albertans to accept more personal responsibility for their behaviour," he said.
"I guess I'm hopeful that if people don't have the money to spend on Jolt and booze and everything else, maybe they won't become quite as addicted."
Less prosperity may also lower Albertans' expectations of what services should be covered under the public health-care system, added Liepert, who's leading the Alberta government's major over-haul of the medical regime.
"We're going to have some tough decisions to make in the budget coming next year and I think people are going to start to say, 'OK, maybe government shouldn't be covering everything,' " the health minister said after his speech.
Liepert's comments, which Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann labelled as "blame-the-victim" mentality, come as more health care changes are set to roll out.
On Monday, the province is unveiling a new plan broadly outlining the government's medical reforms. The plan will focus on sustainability of the medical system, whose costs have ballooned to $13.4 billion from$4.6 billion in 1998. However, the thorny issue of delisting services will not be addressed then, Liepert said.
Several other health announcements are planned, as the province's Dec. 15 deadline for this year's reforms looms.
A new continuing care strategy and pharmaceutical plan are on the horizon. Liepert said the pharmaceutical initiative will mention drugs for rare diseases, but a bulk-buying drug plan isn't yet in the cards. The Alberta government currently spends $1.2 billion annually on prescription drugs.
The province's medical reforms, which included dissolving nine health boards and creating a single entity, have sparked unease among opposition parties.
Swann said health professionals worry they're not being consulted. The new 15-member Alberta Health Services board includes just one physician.
"He's done none of this on the basis of evidence," said Swann, who took in Liepert's speech.
A former family doctor and medical officer of health, Swann pointed to Liepert's comments on the possible health benefits of an economic downturn as an example. Swann said problems such as drug addictions, sexually transmitted illnesses and obesity are fuelled by myriad factors.
"That's a blame-the-victim approach that has been consistent in the Conservative ideology," Swann said. "They fail to see the social conditions that are creating the conditions in which people are making poor choices."
Calgary dietitian Sarah Remmer also isn't certain less disposable income will lead to healthier food choices. "A lot of people eat fast food because it's inexpensive," said Remmer, adding studies have shown people living in lower-income communities are more overweight or obese.
rdaliesio@tHeHerald.Canwest.Com
© The Calgary Herald 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
ed.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Minister (Alberta) says new board will operate like multibillion dollar corporation
The government is said to be ill-suited to operate the board but they are the ones who appoint those who operate it and they are the ones who fund it. Also, the board is not meant to be a profit making entity but the business people are all oriented towards that. This is a great step backward in health care. Where is the representation of patients and providers who are also stakeholders in the healthcare system? Where are the communities that pay the taxes to fund the system. This is an outrage upon the citizens of Alberta. They should try to stop this system as best they can. The business people appointed by the governments are the least well suited to operate the board. They are concerned for profit not providing the best health care. Some business people on the board would be helpful since they perhaps could advise on efficiency aspects of the operation but to run it is entirely different.
Saturday » May 17 » 2008
Liepert prescribes private health vision
Minister says entity will operate like multibillion-dollar corporation
Archie McLean
The Edmonton Journal
Saturday, May 17, 2008
EDMONTON - Alberta's new health-care superboard will operate like a multi-billion dollar private outfit, a job government is ill-suited to do, Health Minister Ron Liepert said Friday.
Speaking with reporters in Calgary, Liepert was careful not to use the word corporation, but said the board will lean heavily on people with experience in private-sector boardrooms.
"I don't think government does a good job of running a $13-billion operation," he said.
"What we need is a board with people who have governance, private-sector business experience, running it like a $13-billion operation.
"And I don't view myself as an MLA as being a member of the board of directors. I view myself as a shareholder in this operation.
"And as an investor, as a shareholder in this operation, I want the best return on my investment."
Liepert said the new board will look more like the province's new investment management board, which is laden with business heavyweights, rather than the more community-oriented health authorities.
He said the new board will be given an "envelope" of cash to fund the health-care system for the entire province, and suggested it will have to stay within that budget.
Liepert's rhetoric worried groups opposed to private health care.
Friends of Medicare executive director Suzanne Marshall said the language is similar to the government's 2001 healthcare report, written by former Deputy Prime Minister Don Mazankowski.
Marshal questioned the makeup of the six-person interim board, which includes a number of business leaders.
"Our question is, where are the health policy experts?" Marshall said. "We're all for corporate success, but health care is a not-for-profit business."
Jean Graham, the former board chairman of David Thompson Health Region, told the Red Deer Advocate on Thursday she has similar feelings.
"I'm very concerned that a seven-person interim board, with probably good management skills but not much health knowledge, will be able to govern the system as effectively as a local governing body."
NDP critic Rachel Notley said the government is perfectly capable of running a multi-billion dollar health-care operation.
But Liepert dismissed critics as "status quoers," married to an old way of thinking.
"The usual suspects come up with the same old status quo, don't want change. You know, I think Albertans said on March the third, we want change.
"We're sick and tired of not being prepared to act on ensuring that we've got a health-care system in the future that we can be proud of."
On Thursday, Liepert took a first step towards reforming Alberta's health-care system by eliminating the province's nine health regions and forming a single "superboard."
The idea, said the board's interim chairman, Ken Hughes, is to create a single entity that moves beyond regional rival-ries.
"We're evolving from a phase where there's an expectation of advocacy for your own regional interests, to a new phase where we are actually creating an entity where the duty is to every single Albertan," said Hughes.
"While I may live in Springbank, I don't speak for Springbank. My duty is to every Albertan."
Hughes, the president of an insurance brokerage firm, said he took the job out of a sense of duty and as a challenge.
"I'm a person who will respond to a request to serve the public interest," he said.
"This is the single most important public policy issue in the country today. How do you deliver health-care services within the framework of the provincial systems, in the framework of the Canada Health Act, within the framework of publicly funded health care?"
Hughes wouldn't speculate on the changes that will be coming in the weeks and months ahead.
amclean@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Saturday » May 17 » 2008
Liepert prescribes private health vision
Minister says entity will operate like multibillion-dollar corporation
Archie McLean
The Edmonton Journal
Saturday, May 17, 2008
EDMONTON - Alberta's new health-care superboard will operate like a multi-billion dollar private outfit, a job government is ill-suited to do, Health Minister Ron Liepert said Friday.
Speaking with reporters in Calgary, Liepert was careful not to use the word corporation, but said the board will lean heavily on people with experience in private-sector boardrooms.
"I don't think government does a good job of running a $13-billion operation," he said.
"What we need is a board with people who have governance, private-sector business experience, running it like a $13-billion operation.
"And I don't view myself as an MLA as being a member of the board of directors. I view myself as a shareholder in this operation.
"And as an investor, as a shareholder in this operation, I want the best return on my investment."
Liepert said the new board will look more like the province's new investment management board, which is laden with business heavyweights, rather than the more community-oriented health authorities.
He said the new board will be given an "envelope" of cash to fund the health-care system for the entire province, and suggested it will have to stay within that budget.
Liepert's rhetoric worried groups opposed to private health care.
Friends of Medicare executive director Suzanne Marshall said the language is similar to the government's 2001 healthcare report, written by former Deputy Prime Minister Don Mazankowski.
Marshal questioned the makeup of the six-person interim board, which includes a number of business leaders.
"Our question is, where are the health policy experts?" Marshall said. "We're all for corporate success, but health care is a not-for-profit business."
Jean Graham, the former board chairman of David Thompson Health Region, told the Red Deer Advocate on Thursday she has similar feelings.
"I'm very concerned that a seven-person interim board, with probably good management skills but not much health knowledge, will be able to govern the system as effectively as a local governing body."
NDP critic Rachel Notley said the government is perfectly capable of running a multi-billion dollar health-care operation.
But Liepert dismissed critics as "status quoers," married to an old way of thinking.
"The usual suspects come up with the same old status quo, don't want change. You know, I think Albertans said on March the third, we want change.
"We're sick and tired of not being prepared to act on ensuring that we've got a health-care system in the future that we can be proud of."
On Thursday, Liepert took a first step towards reforming Alberta's health-care system by eliminating the province's nine health regions and forming a single "superboard."
The idea, said the board's interim chairman, Ken Hughes, is to create a single entity that moves beyond regional rival-ries.
"We're evolving from a phase where there's an expectation of advocacy for your own regional interests, to a new phase where we are actually creating an entity where the duty is to every single Albertan," said Hughes.
"While I may live in Springbank, I don't speak for Springbank. My duty is to every Albertan."
Hughes, the president of an insurance brokerage firm, said he took the job out of a sense of duty and as a challenge.
"I'm a person who will respond to a request to serve the public interest," he said.
"This is the single most important public policy issue in the country today. How do you deliver health-care services within the framework of the provincial systems, in the framework of the Canada Health Act, within the framework of publicly funded health care?"
Hughes wouldn't speculate on the changes that will be coming in the weeks and months ahead.
amclean@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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