Canada Health Act Principles Essay Example

Introduction

Healthcare is a very important part of life. The Canadian government has worked to ensure all people who reside in the country have access to the appropriate healthcare. The provision of healthcare is not limited to the citizens of the country alone but is also open to other people who have joined the country in different ways, such as the refugees. Healthcare practitioners are charged with the responsibility of ensuring all people in the country receive the needed healthcare services. As Canada is among the countries that are governed by the International law, the country is obligated to provide adequate health care to all people who are found in the country regardless of their nationality (Floyd & Sakellariou, 2017, p. 195). For a refugee seeking healthcare for herself and her family, several steps can be taken.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The refugee can take several steps towards accessing the health care services that she needs. One is going to the refugee clinic that is located in each refugee camp, where the refugees get to receive treatment that is provided by the government. The woman can go and have the healthcare practitioners in the refugee clinic provide her with the right care for herself and her family. The healthcare is provided even after the refugees leave the camp, and get their housing in the country (Floyd & Sakellariou, 2017, p. 195).

In a case where the refugee is no longer in the camp, she can seek out a public health officer, who provides the appropriate advice on where best she can receive the care that she needs. The public health officers have to provide medical advice as they must ensure the medical safety of the rest of the population. If the refugee feels uncomfortable receiving healthcare from the public hospitals, due to issues such as language and communication barriers, she can always be referred to the health clinic in the cam, where there is a higher likelihood of finding people who speak the native language. The doctor found in the clinic can refer her to a different healthcare provider located near her, where she can receive better services at her convenience.

Friends of Medicare

Friends of Medicare is an NGO that aims at raising the public's awareness of issues that plague the health industry in Canada. Friends of Medicare also aim at ensuring the government is aware of the issues that make the healthcare industry ineffective thus pushing the government to make the needed changes and give the patients the best possible care. As it is an organization that is not affiliated with any political party, the organization has a great pull that makes the government react to the issues that they raise. Among the issues that Friends of Medicare has raised is regarding the access that Trans patients have for the treatments that they need ("Trans and Health Care Advocates Holding Event on Barriers to Care - Friends of Medicare," 2018).

Trans-gender patients need to receive hormone replacement, to make their transitions easier and more effective. However, using the current services in Canadian hospitals, some Transgender patients have to wait for periods of close to two years before they are eligible for the treatment that they need. The long wait that such patients have to suffer through does them a lot of harm, going against the healthcare policy of the country that seeks to provide treatment to all ("Trans and Health Care Advocates Holding Event on Barriers to Care - Friends of Medicare," 2018). As the public institutions do not provide the care speedily, patients who require hormone replacement therapy have had to turn to the private sector where the treatment is available, but at a very high cost. The Friends of Medicare association is right to ask for the inclusion of hormone replacement therapy as part of the reproductive health services that should be provided to the people. The lengthy durations that Trans-gender patients have to wait may make it seem as if they are not part of the people that should receive treatment, this change has to be implemented.

The Canadian health act work on the principle of universality, meaning providing healthcare to all. The principle ensures that no person is exempted from receiving care just because of their gender, or race or other issues. As it allows for the provision of reproductive health care where men and women receive all the necessary treatment pertaining their reproductive health, the same courtesy should be provided to people who are transgender ("Trans and Health Care Advocates Holding Event on Barriers to Care - Friends of Medicare," 2018). The Friends of Medicare association has every right to raise the issue of the lack of timely and appropriate hormone replacement therapy, as it affects a reasonable part of the population.

Jurisdiction and Responsibility of Federal Governments and Health Minister

The federal government has several powers in the health sector of Canada. The federal government overrules provincial governments in the eventuality of an epidemic. For instance, where one province may be suffering from an outbreak of for example smallpox, the federal government takes charge to avoid further spread, providing medication and quarantine for the affected areas. The federal government also has jurisdiction over the production of health-related items such as machinery and medicine. The act ensures the government can regulate the production of such items and distribution among the different provinces. The federal government has also been granted jurisdiction over islands in Canada. Thus all matters related to health in the islands have to go through the federal government (Leeson, 2002, p 6). Another place where the Canadian federal government has jurisdiction is regarding patents of discoveries and inventions especially of health-related items, to make them more affordable to the citizens. The minister of health has the responsibility of ensuring the laws governing the health sector on the federal level are enforced. The minister also represents the federal government on matters health, on a global forum.

Jurisdiction and Responsibility of Provincial Governments and Health Minister

Due to a large number of provinces in Canada, the provincial governments have to be given authority over specific issues, to ensure the provinces run effectively. For instance, the federal government has jurisdiction over the building and management of hospitals in the respective provinces. Meaning the governments get to run the hospitals without interference from the federal government fully. Provincial governments also have jurisdiction over immigration, thus including the provision of health care services to the immigrants. Another area where the provincial government has authority is on the civil rights of those employed in the health sector in the provinces (Leeson, 2002, p. 5). The provincial governments handle the professionals of the medical field and other laborers who work in the healthcare sector. Also, the provincial governments are responsible for any training and education that is provided to the healthcare practitioners in the province, thus ensuring they have well-trained individuals in the provinces. The provincial minister of health deals with the supervision of specific provincial government projects.

The Two Principles of the Canada Health Act

Public Administration

Public administration is a vital principle of the Canada Healthcare Act. Based on the Constitution the Act states that a public authority must approve the management of county health insurance for non-profit gains. The expert responsible must be accountable to the province, and the accounts or registers must be audited based on the set guidelines in the healthcare act (Deber & Gamble, 2017). The public authority responsible for a province or territory must ensure that all the operations are carried out with a non-profit basis. The public authority must remain answerable since territorial or provincial regimes control it.

The provinces and zones offer and convey most of the health care services needed by the citizens. The health insurance plans for both provinces and territories are expected to meet the set conditions under the Canada Health Act (Deber & Gamble, 2017). The insurance plans for both cover the necessary hospital and other medical services on a pre-paid basis. The citizens receiving the services do not have to pay any direct charges when receiving the care form the medical institutions. Federal cash and tax transfers are used by these governments to fund the health insurance plans of the citizens.

The medically necessary services are not dictated in the constitution, and therefore it is the role of territories and provinces to determine them. Those in charge of these regions work together with the colleges for medics to define the medically necessary services that can be covered by health insurance. The Canada Health Act covers the full cost of any service that is defined as medically necessary based on the guidelines set by the act. If a service is not medically required, then it will not be covered by the health insurance plan (Deber & Gamble, 2017). The governments are responsible for the administration of the insurance plans, the planning, funding and the negotiation of the fee schedules with the healthcare professionals.

When a new resident moves to a specific province, they must apply for the coverage before they are issued health cared that offers coverage in the specific region. The provisions of the Canada Health Act are effective as citizens cannot be denied the services if they are unable to pay premiums. Additional services other than those dictated in the Canada Health Act are provided by provinces which may include physiotherapy, dental services, and prescription medicine (Deber & Gamble, 2017). The public authority with the assistance of the government can decide to scrap some of the services that are designated by the Health Care Act based on the needs of the residents. Changing government policies may affect the services, and thus the federal government offers provinces freedom of deciding the services they will offer to the residents.

The public administration criteria provide that the health care insurance plan that is applied by a territory or province is administered and operated without the aim of making any profits. The administration is conducted by a public authority that ensures that all the standards set are maintained whenever the plan is used. The public authority is appointed by the government of the territory or province (Deber & Gamble, 2017). The operations of the health care system in a certain region are guided by the public authority which is then answerable to the government of the region. The public authority ensures that the primary caregivers in the medical field are covered by the insurance policies set. The medics offer basic medical and preventive care to the citizens. Whenever a patient requires a service that is outside the scope of the primary care physicians, a specialist is provided. Hospitals in the country operate based on referrals from physicians and whenever emergency services are required.

Audits are essential for the smooth running of each organization. It involves a thorough evaluation of all the financial records that are related to the delivery of the public health care system (Deber & Gamble, 2017). Audits ensure that fraud is prevented as it can detect any forms of fraud and other accounting irregularities. The audits will ensure the delivery of the healthcare services in the province or territories comply with the set guidelines and standards. Audits are also essential in presenting a true and fair view of the performance of the system. Therefore, they provide information on the effectiveness of the public...