Saskatchewan provincial election 2020 « JointHealth™

Arthritis has devastating and debilitating effects on the lives of more than 160,000 Saskatchewan residents. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability and work disability in Saskatchewan. About a quarter of the population with arthritis between 20 and 54 years of age in Saskatchewan were not in the labour force because of their arthritis. Within a generation, the number of Saskatchewan residents with the most disabling and life-threatening types of arthritis – osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis – is expected to significantly increase. To effectively treat and manage arthritis, the next elected Saskatchewan government must improve the level of arthritis prevention, treatment and care.

Considering the prevalence of the disease and its significant cost to individuals and society, Arthritis Consumer Experts sent an open letter and a survey to the political party leaders and candidates running in the Saskatchewan election, asking how their government would improve arthritis prevention, treatment and care in Saskatchewan.

Any responses from party leaders and candidates received by ACE will be archived and posted as they arrive.

ACE survey and party responses

ACE letter sent to each candidate included:

Party Responses To Survey

Individual Candidate Responses
This section will be updated as we receive responses from individual candidates.

Questions from the public and people with arthritis

Will you consider arthritis a health priority for Saskatchewan and implement high quality, standardized evidence-based models of arthritis care for all Saskatchewan residents?
How do you plan to continue and improve virtual care?
How are you going to increase the use of biosimilars and reinvest those savings to list new medicines and expand coverage for existing medicines?
What will your government do to improve the healthcare and lives of Indigenous peoples living with arthritis in Saskatchewan?
How will you improve reimbursement access for medicines approved for inflammatory arthritis?
Will you take steps to increase the number of rheumatologists and trained arthritis professionals to ensure timely, specialized care for Saskatchewan patients with arthritis?
Will you improve joint surgery wait times so that they are within medically recommended guidelines?

Any questions from the public or people living with arthritis received by ACE will be posted anonymously.

Voting safely during COVID-19
Find out how Elections Saskatchewan and the Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer are working together to ensure the Saskatchewan election is safe for voters, candidates and election workers: https://www.elections.sk.ca/voters/covid-19/

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