Basic income could keep disease at bay in N.L., says Health Accord board member

CBC News

Improving Newfoundland and Labrador’s health outcomes begins with addressing factors outside the health-care system, according to a board member who helped a new report crafted by the province’s Health Accord.

The Health Accord, which released its long-awaited report on Friday, is split into two categories to help make the province’s population healthier: rebalancing the health-care system, and working to improve the social determinants of health, according to Josh Smee.

“Things like your income, your education, your housing, your work conditions, your state of food security … all those have really meaningful health outcomes down the line,” Smee, who also works as the CEO of Food First N.L., told CBC News on Monday.

“That range of things, the social determinants, impacts your health way more than the health-care system does.”

The report makes 57 recommendations, ranging from centralizing emergency services to creating a provincial basic income plan.

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