Cuts to Federal Health Transfer Payments Undermine BC's Ability to Improve Health Care

(VICTORIA) — Premier Christy Clark’s support for federal health transfer payment cuts undermines British Columbia’s ability to improve care and support innovations that generate savings in the longer term, says Opposition health critic Mike Farnworth.

As the Council of the Federation to discuss the 2014 health care accord drew to a close, Clark announced the province would be part of a national working group that would consider health care innovations.

But Farnworth questioned how the premier can achieve anything as long as she fails to take on the federal government’s plan to tie health care funding to economic growth – a move that will amount to billions in lost support for B.C.’s public health care system

“This funding formula is terrible for B.C. It's going to mean either more of a burden for B.C. taxpayers or it's going to mean cuts to services in 2014,” said Farnworth. “While the premiers have agreed to talk to Ottawa about the problems with per capita funding, linking health care funding to GDP is what's really setting us up for disaster in the coming years,” said Farnworth.

Under the new federal formula for the cash portion of the Canada Health Transfer, B.C. will experience a projected cumulative loss of over $8 billion compared to the existing arrangement.

During the Liberal leadership campaign, Ms. Clark proposed tying provincial health funding to economic growth as the centrepiece of her health platform. Both former health ministers George Abbott and Kevin Falcon disagreed with Clark. Falcon acknowledged that tying health care budget increases to economic growth would involve the difficult task of finding millions of dollars' worth of cuts.

“Innovations in health care that are needed in this province, such as preventative and screening programs and community based care, can deliver savings in the long term but require upfront investment. The loss of federal resources will download these costs onto our province in an area where there is shared responsibility,” said Farnworth.

Farnworth also pointed out that the government support of this formula reinforces Ottawa’s stance that it will not negotiate with the provinces on the accord.

“Christy Clark should not be supporting a plan that shifts costs onto provincial taxpayers and hurts public health care in B.C."

Adrian Dix and the Opposition team are committed to fostering the kind of health care system British Columbians deserve and are proposing practical solutions to support the health and quality of life of families in B.C.