The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) released a report card today entitled “The Role of the Federal Government in Health Care.” This report card rates the federal government’s involvement across five areas, including supporting care for the most vulnerable, setting a national health strategy, and developing and implementing national programs such as home care and immunization.
“As the national organization representing family physicians, the CFPC would like to see the federal government playing a leadership role in maintaining standards of care and access, in supporting initiatives in areas of particular need, and in setting the national health care agenda,” said Dr. Marie-Dominique Beaulieu, CFPC president. “We have developed this report card not to scold but to highlight the specific areas in which the federal government should, in our opinion, assume a larger leadership role.”
The CFPC uses colour-coded grades to determine if the federal government is sufficiently, partially, or not at all involved. A majority of the indicators find that there is partial federal government involvement. That’s good news, but more is needed.
“Canadians want a well-funded health care system that provides timely, excellent care while managing money and resources sustainably,” said Dr. Francine Lemire, Executive Director and CEO of the CFPC. “Many of us look to the federal government to provide leadership, to establish and uphold national standards for care and develop programs to meet the needs of all living in Canada. This report card serves to urge the federal government to become a stronger partner in health care.”
This report card reflects current performance but is a living document. The CFPC plans to issue future editions of the report card reflecting the evolving role of the federal government.