Minister, can you hear me?

During the federal election campaign in October 2008 CAPA wrote to Prime Minister Harper outlining our concerns relating to research funding, health human resources, and access to medications. Following the election our letter was forwarded to the new Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq. We received a reply from her in February. I would like to share with you some of what we wrote and her response.

We raised our concerns about arthritis research funding. She informed us that the Institutes for Muskoskeletal Health receive $8 million dollars per year. In return we reminded her that this institute funds all muskoskeletal research, not exclusively arthritis research. Minister Aglukkaq added that $138.4 million was spent on arthritis research in the last nine years. This may sound like a lot of money but with close to five million people with arthritis in Canada, that’s roughly 31 cents per person per year. In contrast the Cancer Institute received a whopping $118 million in a single year (2005-2006). The funds designated to arthritis research are a drop in the bucket and totally inadequate considering arthritis is predicted to affect up to 6,360,000 in 2026 or 20% of the population. These figures do not include children under 15 years of age. The inequity is profoundly obvious.

We are painfully aware (pun intended) of the lack of rheumatologists in Canada and addressed this issue in our letter to the Prime Minister. The Health Minister replied that they are spending $38 million annually for the Pan-Canadian Health Human Resources Strategy. We replied that we would like to see specific recruitment of rheumatologists as part of this process. With only 350 rheumatologists and close to five million people with arthritis there is a serious gap in access to specialists.

Our letter asked the Minister of Health:

• To address the inequity in arthritis research funding by using her influence to allocate more funding to the Institute of Muskoskeletal Health and Arthritis and also to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The money allocated should reflect the burden of arthritis and bring it in line with research spending on other chronic disease groups in Canada. As the incidence of arthritis increases, much more research is needed to help stem the disease tide, keep arthritis patients healthy and productive, and healthcare costs in check. Dedicating funds to arthritis research and awarding grant applications to internationally recognized arthritis researchers working together in established cross-disciplinary networks would address the problem.

• To address the inequitable access to best practice prescription medication across Canada for people with arthritis. While medications fall within provincial jurisdictions, we asked the Minister to use her influence to produce the same equitable access to medication that is available to cancer patients across the country. That the same degree of access is not currently available for Canadians with arthritis challenges the health and discriminates against a significant segment of the population.

• To address the problem of inadequate arthritis information in government by charging relative agencies and their representatives to be better informed about arthritis, the burden of arthritis on individuals, and on the healthcare system and government. It is with this knowledge that they will be better able to reflect and address the needs of this significant sector of Canadian society and of the healthcare system, rheumatologists and other health care professionals that care for arthritis patients.

I encourage you to make your voice heard by writing the Minister about your concerns. The more voices she hears and letters she reads, the more likely she is to consider our issues. After all, Canadians with arthritis comprise 18% of the population. To contact her:

Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health
Phone: 613-957-0200 FAX: 613-952-1124
E-mail: minister_ministre@hc-sc.gc.ca