New Federal Healthcare Funding Comes Up Short: APEC
SAINT JOHN — New federal healthcare money will provide a marginal boost to stressed Atlantic healthcare coffers, according to the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.
Atlantic Canada’s share of the February 7 federal healthcare funding announcement amounts to an extra $130 million for 2022/2023; some of it has strings attached, APEC finds in a new report.
Provincial and territorial premiers, originally set to discuss the deal on February 10, have pushed that meeting back to February 13. Council of the Federation Chair Heather Stefanson, the premier of Manitoba, says the money is “significantly less” than what they need.
“Originally, [all] the provinces asked for about $27 billion [per year],” says APEC senior policy analyst Fred Bergman. Bergman, the report author, says that would have increased federal healthcare funding through the existing Canada Health Transfer from 22 percent to 35 percent each year.
“When you compare that to what they got, $46.2 billion over 10 years…they got about 16 percent of what they asked for.”
In Atlantic Canada, that extra funding means an average of $455 million annually over the next 10 years, beyond 2022/2023.
This new funding also means the federal contribution to Atlantic Canada’s healthcare funding will increase by four percent this year and an average of 14 percent annually relative to the $3.2 billion in regular Canada Health Transfer (CHT) previously committed to the Atlantic provinces in 2023/2024.
Ultimately, it means federal funding will account for less than 25 percent of the growing Atlantic Canadian healthcare price tag, far short of the 35 percent ask. The rest of the costs will be borne by the provinces. The report shows that from 2005 to 2022, Atlantic Canadian healthcare spending has ballooned from approximately $6 billion to $14 billion.
The new funding might seem like a lot of money, but with an aging population and inflationary pressures on salaries and drug costs, that money may not go far enough to fix many of the persistent problems plaguing the system like a lack of family doctors.
When compared to other provinces and territories, Atlantic Canada’s demographically older population is experiencing longer wait times for things like hip and knee replacements, as well as increasing numbers of patients with age-related diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
These problems will only get worse over the next 20 years as the older demographic peaks. In a 2021 report, APEC found that, by 2040, there will be three seniors for every two young people in Atlantic Canada, putting even more strain on the system.
“Healthcare cost pressures are still going to continue to grow,” Bergman says. “And it’s going to be hard to address it with what funding is available.”
To access 50 percent of the funds, the federal government has required provinces to sign bilateral agreements committing to address four priorities:
1. Expanding access to family health services, including in rural and remote areas;
2. Supporting health workers and reducing backlogs;
3. Improving access to quality mental health and substance abuse services;
4. Standardizing health data and digital tools.
“Having better healthcare data from an accountability and from a healthcare delivery perspective is a great idea,” Bergman says. “Having bilateral agreements that recognize that some provinces have unique needs… is certainly a step in the right direction.”
“So there’s a lot of good things in the announcement on Tuesday, but … it’s a wait-and-see whether or not this addresses all the issues that we’re facing today.”
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].