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Evidence and Perspectives on Funding Healthcare in Canada
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  • January 2017: Healthcare Funding News

    This issue discusses key recent developments in the healthcare funding arena. Read More

Key Issues in Healthcare Funding

Canadians value high quality healthcare. With about 11% of the country’s GDP going to healthcare spending, it is important that this money is allocated in ways that best meet the needs of Canadians, and provides the best quality of care.

We explore several key funding issues that are important to understanding of Canadian healthcare funding:

  • Current Funding Model: the most common funding model in Canada is global budget, where a fixed sum is allocated to a provider, irrespective of quality of care or quantity of patients treated.
  • Activity-Based Funding (ABF): a funding method where providers are allocated funds based on the type and volume of services they provide, and the complexity of the patient population they serve.
  • Bundled Payments: a recently-developed, alternative funding method in which a single payment is used to fund all of the care related to a condition or medical event within a fixed time period, spanning providers and locations.
  • Integrated Funding Models: increasing integration between siloed health sectors (e.g. primary care, acute care, mental health, pharmaceuticals) is a goal of many health systems, including Canada, and may be facilitated though integrated funding models.
  • Hospital Quality: high-quality care important to both patients and policy-makers and refers to the degree to which health care services increase desired health outcomes and are consistent with evidence-based medicine.

Please explore these key issues from the drop down menu or by clicking an issue listed above. Each page includes a short overview, an in-depth downloadable policy brief, our publications and a list of recommended readings on the topic.

A reliable and impartial resource
for literature, news and
discussion regarding healthcare
funding policies in Canada
and internationally


News

Jason Sutherland to speak at Casemixkonferens 2017

July 27, 2017

Jason Sutherland will be the plenary speaker at the Casemixkonferens in Stockholm, Sweden from September 6-7, 2017. More information about the conference can be found here and the preliminary programme is available here.

Publications in Profile

July 21, 2017

New research is constantly changing the landscape of healthcare funding and it can be challenging to keep up. Here are a few recent articles that we found interesting and think that you may as well.

Sommers BD, Naylor CD. Medicaid Block Grants and Federalism: Lessons From Canada. Jama. 2017 Apr 25;317(16):1619-20.

Sutherland JM, Liu G, Crump RT, Law M. Paying for volume: British Columbia’s experiment with funding hospitals based on activity. Health Policy. 2016 Nov 30;120(11):1322-8.

Jacobs J, Daniel I, Baker G, Brown A, Wodchis W. Bundling Care and Payment: Evidence From Early Adopters. 2015.

Edwards PK, Mears SC, Barnes CL. BPCI: Everyone Wins, Including the Patient. J Arthroplasty. 2017;32(6):1728–31.

Mohnen SM, Molema CC, Steenbeek W, van den Berg MJ, de Bruin SR, Baan CA, et al. Cost Variation in Diabetes Care across Dutch Care Groups? Health Serv Res. 2017 Feb 1;52(1):93–112.

February 2017 Issue of Healthcare Funding News

January 30, 2017

The February 2017 issue of Healthcare Funding News discusses discusses our report from the CD Howe Institute on integrated funding models, new federal funding for mental health and home care, and some of the likely implications of the new administration south of the border vis-à-vis efforts to reform health care delivery.

Subscribe to Healthcare Funding News to enhance your understanding and stay current on health care funding in Canada.

Integrated Funding: Connecting the Silos for the Healthcare We Need

January 22, 2017

Jason Sutherland and Erik Hellsten write that Canada needs to break down payment silos for more effective health care. This report from the C.D. Howe Institute provides an overview of provincial silo-based payment models and draws lessons for Canada from international integrated payment reforms. Read the report here.

Norman Bethune Symposium

April 12, 2016

Jason Sutherland presented at the 5th Annual Norman Bethune Symposium in Vancouver on April 2016. Dr. Sutherland’s presentation is available here. Other content from the conference is available here.

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