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Steve Morgan

@steveubc.bsky.social
1.7K followers 189 following 47 posts

Economist, professor of health care policy, and advocate for universal access to medicines in Canada and around the world. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ally. #pharmacare he/him

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Steve Morgan
Danyaal Raza @danyaalraza.com · 27/11/2025
Part 1 on decoding public v private healthcare.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Why peer review takes me so long: Started reviewing a paper citing works I hadn't read. Had to read them to inform my review. Learned of tangential works relevant to my teaching. Had to read them and revise my lectures. Had to get coffee. Finally got back to the peer review.
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
JAMA @jama.com · 28/07/2025
Viewpoint: To effectively reduce drug costs, the US needs its own price negotiation framework rather than relying on international benchmarks, as proposed by the Trump administration. ja.ma/4o0PF66
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
💯 Changing payments without changing critical institutions related to delivery, governance, and accountability will not produce long-desired improvements in primary health care. Providers and some patients will be happier but the system will remain a fragmented and underperforming one.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Canadian “Medicare” is a public good that provides essential services while also creating jobs, economic growth, and competitive advantages for Canada’s economy. Letter reminding our governments of this, signed by 200+ colleagues and me: centreforfuturework.ca/2025/06/17/t...
centreforfuturework.ca
The Economic Benefits of Canada’s Public Health Care System - Centre for Future Work
Open letter from economists, health policy experts, and experts in related disciplines
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Highly recommend.
Book cover. Carol Off, At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
The 2025 Speech from the Throne mentions #pharmacare once, and only in a promise to keep what is already in place--which is next to nothing. I think the prospect of a meaningful program in the 2020s is dead. Feels like 2006.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Get out and vote as though your country depended on it! #Never51
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
A lot of national pride tonight.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
A great 10-second summary of the stupidity of the Trump/Musk tariffs.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Economic historians are going to look back at this era and wonder what the $%@% people were thinking! This isn't Liberation Day in the USA. It's Liquidation Day!
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
This is, in large part, pandemic revenge. As far as these oligarchs are concerned, all science does is tell them stuff they cannot do. They can't keep spewing carbon. They can't keep businesses open as usual when millions are dying. They have concluded that research is the enemy of profit.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
“Just as strong banking regulations guard against economic catastrophe, comprehensive oversight of our digital landscape is essential to protecting democracy, public safety and national security,” write @petermacleod.bsky.social and @taylorowen.bsky.social
thestar.com
In a changed world, Canada faces an information war. There is an answer
To fight misinformation, we need to re-establish a critical cabinet portfolio for the digital age.
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
It's 5 yrs today since lockdown started in England, but "We must never have lockdown again" is the wrong lesson. Lockdowns are terrible but so are deadly pandemics. Our choices 5 years ago were limited - we can & must do better in the future. Do read my post. open.substack.com/pub/christin...
open.substack.com
We are learning the wrong lessons from lockdown
And unless we learn the right ones, we risk making the same mistakes in a new pandemic
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
Hundreds of unsold Teslas being stored in a rented parking lot outside of Vancouver — a scene playing out across the globe. But, sure, buying shares in the company is a GREAT idea right about now!!!
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Danielle Smith & LaGrange say if there was anything amiss about health procurement, it was all internal to Alberta Health Services. Here's a long look at the UCP government's many interventions into contracting at AHS: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
ANALYSIS | How province kept rein on health contracting, despite what Danielle Smith says | CBC News
CBC News has obtained documents that lay out extensive government influence over AHS contracts with private surgery clinics and more.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
From the US: maybe not such a good idea having secretive, for-profit financial intermediaries influencing what insurers pay, how pharmacies are reimbursed, and which medications people can access.
commonwealthfund.org
What Pharmacy Benefit Managers Do, and How They Contribute to Drug Spending
Policymakers at the federal and state level have considered a number of reforms, many of which have bipartisan support, to regulate pharmacy benefit managers.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
“Canadians are entitled to a comprehensive health-care plan that prioritises access, equity, and sustainability for all.“ www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Health in Canada: a pivotal political moment
As Justin Trudeau steps down after a decade as leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party, Canadians face a pivotal moment. Although attention is focused on trade tariffs and souring relations with the U...
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
More of this please!!!
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
This got me. I love this country. I love its hope, its compassion, and its humility—that we know we are not perfect and that we believe we can and must always strive to be better. youtu.be/vhiKlhTmwDU?...
youtu.be
Dear Canada
YouTube video by Hockey Films by Tim Thompson
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Now is the time for a united and hopeful Canada, not a divided and hateful one. Be strong and resolute without becoming that which we are defending ourselves against.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Two posts about the authoritarian attack on American universities out today. The first is an excellent review of why any how this happens. 1/2: "Autocracies require ideological control and a single narrative about what is happening within the country." @chrischirp.bsky.social
christinapagel.substack.com
Censor, purge, defund: how Trump is following the authoritarian playbook on science and universities
I have mapped 35 of the Trump administration's attacks on science and universities to the authoritarian playbook - and consider what it means for attacks still to come
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
If you run into an American travelling abroad -- even right next door, here in Canada -- treat them with kindness. It is highly unlikely they voted for Trump. And nobody voted for Musk.
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
In 1890, the Tariff Act came into place in the United States. It placed tariffs on imports of up to 50%. While touted as a way to build American industry, there was also the hope it would force an annexation of Canada. It backfired. Let's learn more. 🧵1/10
The image is a black-and-white political cartoon depicting a man in a suit standing behind a counter labeled "Republican Platform." He is holding a bottle labeled "Untaxed Whiskey, 20¢ Gal." in one hand and a piece of cloth labeled "War-Taxed Common Cloth, Tariff 84%" in the other. Above the counter, a sign reads, "If you don’t see what you want, ask for it." The cartoon, signed by W.A. Rogers, appears to satirize the Republican Party's economic policies, highlighting the disparity in taxation between luxury items like whiskey and essential goods like cloth.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Can Canadian institutions please get the hell off of X now?!?!?
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
There is not a lot of good news out there but I think this is good news. Vancouver Coastal has the lowest levels of COVID in wastewater since the beginning of the pandemic -- especially for February (latest data). I'm glad they keep measuring this and I hope this trend holds.
Plot of COVID viral load in Vancouver Coastal wastewater treatment plans, showing varied but declining trends since 2022, with comparatively low levels in recent months.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
“If the American people don’t want this why are we doing it.” 🤔 youtu.be/iSW8ezOmYHs?...
youtu.be
Maddow: Two new details learned from Trump's Oval Office meltdown
YouTube video by MSNBC
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
HSR peers, watch this space (and consider submitting work) on US health policy in the Trump era. (Yes, my Bluesky account is @commonwealthfund.org stan account.) www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
healthaffairs.org
Announcement: Health Policy At A Crossroads | Health Affairs Forefront
<i>Health Affairs</i> is pleased to issue a call for submissions to the new Forefront Featured Topic, “Health Policy At A Crossroads,” focused on salient health policy developments and debates as Pres...
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Musk and Trump solve Canada’s health human resources problem!
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Happy #FlagDay and #SNL50, eh! #CanadaSky
cbc.ca
Saturday Night Live is turning 50, and some of its best moments have featured Canadians | CBC News
Canadians have always been a fixture on Saturday Night Live, the groundbreaking sketch comedy show that will mark its 50th anniversary with a special celebration show on Sunday.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Now might be a good time for students to re-read Deborah Stone's chapter on efficiency in "Policy Paradox."
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
If your argument is "sure, a terrible modern event has a parallel in the 1920s and 30s but don't worry we turned out just fine", might I suggest reading about the 1940s.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
TLDR: "tough-on-crime" illicit drug policies are ineffective, oppressive, and extraordinarily expensive. The underlying problems are complex but there are far better ways to address them if you actually cared about people who use drugs.
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Imposing life sentences on fentanyl offences will only lead to more poverty, addiction and devastation
Pierre Poilievre’s suggestion that mandatory life sentences are the solution to the toxic drug crisis is misleading and dangerous
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Should I start a series called “cartoons you wouldn’t see in Canada”?
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Billionaires view the world as a video game in which everyone else is an NPC.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
If for-profit surgical facilities cream skim the lowest-risk patients AND receive inflated-price contracts, can anyone tell me how it is they are “more efficient” than public facilities?
theglobeandmail.com
Opposition calls for RCMP investigation into firing of Alberta Health Services CEO
Ousted executive Athana Mentzelopoulos alleged in a letter that government officials improperly interfered in procurement of private surgical facilities and medication
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
“Premier Danielle Smith’s government dismissed the head of AHS two days before she was scheduled to meet with the province’s Auditor-General to discuss her investigation into procurement contracts and deals for private surgical facilities, according to a letter obtained by The Globe and Mail.”
theglobeandmail.com
Alberta ousted health services CEO amid probe into medical contracts, document alleges
Athana Mentzelopoulos was dismissed two days before a meeting with province’s auditor on her investigation, according to letter
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
AI tools from three years ago increased cancer detection rates and positive predictive values by about 25%. Imagine what AI tools are able to do today…and will be able to do three years from now. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Screening performance and characteristics of breast cancer detected in the Mammography Screening with Artificial Intelligence trial (MASAI): a randomised, controlled, parallel-group, non-inferiority, ...
The findings suggest that AI contributes to the early detection of clinically relevant breast cancer and reduces screen-reading workload without increasing false positives.
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 03/02/2025
"Everyone thinks of solar like the Whole Foods of energy - better for you, but pricey. In fact, it's now the Costco of energy, and everyone needs to know that." - yet another unforgettable thought from @billmckibben.bsky.social
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 02/02/2025
RONALD REAGAN (1988): We should be aware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends, weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world—all while cynically waving the American flag.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Got to say, that was a good speech.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
I signed the Pledge for Canada to reflect on the challenges Canada faces and what we can do to respond together: actionnetwork.org/petitions/pl...
actionnetwork.org
Sign the Pledge for Canada
This petition is intended as an invitation to Canadians to reflect on the current challenges Canada faces and what we can all do to respond to the risks and to contribute to building a more resilient ...
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Never have I seen more “made in Canada” ads in my life. Also, does anyone want to buy a used Tesla?
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
The Commonwealth Fund @commonwealthfund.org · 29/01/2025
Community health centers provide essential primary care to more than 31 million people. Without reliable, congressionally-authorized support, the U.S. risks losing an essential lifeline for millions of people. #CHCs #communityhealth
commonwealthfund.org
Community Health Centers’ Progress and Challenges in Meeting Patients’ Essential Primary Care Needs
Amid major public health challenges, community health centers continue to provide millions of patients with accessible, comprehensive, and coordinated health care.
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Reposted by Steve Morgan
JAMA @jama.com · 09/01/2025
Private equity acquisitions of US hospitals have increased over the past decade, and such acquisitions were associated with a worsening of patient care experience compared to non-acquired hospitals. #MedSky ja.ma/3WaBGhK
Figure 1. Trends in Patients' Global Rating of Hospitals Before and After Private Equity Acquisition
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
More work from the @commonwealthfund.org that, although for a US audience, is also of relevance to Canada. Private health insurance imposes sizable burdens on workers...and those burdens vary by workplace. www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...
commonwealthfund.org
Trends in Employer Health Insurance Costs, 2014–2023: Coverage Is More Expensive for Workers in Small Businesses
Across the U.S., employees at small businesses generally face higher health insurance deductibles and premium costs than employees at large firms.
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Latest international data from the Commonwealth Fund shows, once again, the American private-public model of health benefits is not a model to follow. www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
This is a good discussion of Canada's first stage (or "pilot") of a national pharmacare program. Well worth the read and serious contemplation over what should and could come next. www.cmaj.ca/content/196/...
cmaj.ca
The first, fragile foundations of national pharmacare in Canada
[See related research at www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.241024][1] On Oct. 10, 2024, Bill C-64 — comprising the first concrete measures to implement universal, single-payer, public pharmacare in...
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Late announcement (I've been sick): it is an honour to be appointed to this committee on national pharmacare. I look forward to the work involved. Please contact Health Canada for info and media inquiries. www.canada.ca/en/health-ca...
canada.ca
Government of Canada establishes a Committee of Experts to make recommendations on National Pharmacare
Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced the establishment of the Committee of Experts which will recommend options on how to operate and finance a national, universal, single...
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Steve Morgan @steveubc.bsky.social · 30/04/2024
If you have access to the Hill Times, here's a column that took a look at the recommended next step for national pharmacare: the most commonly prescribed clinically-important drugs, AKA essential medicines. www.hilltimes.com/story/2024/0...
hilltimes.com
Next step in universal drug coverage should prioritize ‘essential medicines,’ says pharmacare expert
Focusing on a list of the most commonly prescribed clinically-important drugs could save billions of dollars, both directly in terms of drug budget, and indirectly in terms of improvements in health c...
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