Health care to cost 50 Percent of provincial budget by 2014

WINNIPEG: Health care in Manitoba will consume 50 percent of provincial expenditures by 2014, and 75 percent of expenditures by 2034 according to a new study from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).

The 100-page report, The Patient, the Condition, the Treatment: A CTF Research and Position Paper on Health Care* forecasts the target dates based on an average of the last three years of increases in health care spending in each province. "Across the provinces, 62 percent of all new provincial spending in the past five years has gone to health care," said CTF federal director Walter Robinson, author of the study. "Health care should not be seen as social policy in isolation; it is a fundamental taxpayer issue as well."

"Health care spending is hitting a wall in terms of the budget envelope," said CTF-MB director Victor Vrsnik. "Manitoba will spend 50% of its budget on health care by 2014, while Ontario will reach that percentage in 2030. Given that Manitoba will be among first provinces to hit the 50% mark a mere 12 years from now, and the 75% mark in 32 years, it is inevitable that Manitoba will be one of the first province to experiment with how health care will be delivered in the future."

In addition to forecasting target expenditure dates, the CTF report analyses the history of healthcare in Canada, international comparisons, and recommends changes to the Canada Health Act to preserve universality for all Canadians. The CTF report recommends modernizing the Act to include principles of public governance, quality, accountability, choice, and sustainability in addition to universality.

Praise for the CTF Health Care Paper

"The CTF has produced a thorough and well researched paper. It is a valuable contribution to the emerging health care debate," said Dr. William Orovan, a Hamilton-area physician and past president of the Ontario Medical Association (1999-2000).

"This document is readable and concise but at the same time it is also a bold look at the past, present and future of health care in Canada," stated Dr. David Gratzer, author of Code Blue: Reviving Canada's Health Care System, the 1999/2000 Donner Prize winner for best public policy book in Canada.