Health Perspective

I have worked in public and private healthcare.  I have seen more examples than I can count of the negative effects of poverty, even in our supposedly equitable public health system. In this post I will briefly describe the issues I have seen in regards to insurance. For example, in Nova Scotia, public medical insurance ( MSI) mostly covers medications, not devices or equipment, which may be just as important for treating a health issue. Many seniors lose their private insurance after they turn 65 (if they even had any in the first place), so as they age and generally require more care, their coverage decreases. This may be in addition to being on fixed income which further reduces their ability to afford healthcare. 

As each province determines how their health system functions, this results in inequalities throughout Canada. How can we address healthcare and poverty in this context?  Will the feedback from this public consultation go to each provincial government?  NS needs to review how it supports low income citizens in regards to their health needs. We DO have a two-tier system in Canada in many areas as not all healthcare is affodable/ accessible/ public. The non-profit sector cannot cover all gaps and MSI needs to fund treatments other than pharmaceuticals.