By: Justine Catalan
A $46.2 billion new funding aims to improve and modernize Canada’s health care system by investing in home and community care, mental health, and reducing wait times for medical procedures.
Premiers are disappointed with the new funding
- After meeting with the Prime Minister, premiers expressed their desire to thoroughly discuss the federal proposal before making a decision. They also indicated their expectation for the federal government to provide additional funds.
- The federal government is committing a substantial amount of $196.1 billion towards health care in the next decade, including $46.2 billion new funding, in addition to already budgeted funds. The deal would begin with a $2 billion increase in the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) given to the provinces and territories without conditions. However, the premiers had made a request to the federal government to increase the CHT to the provinces by a yearly amount of $28 billion.
Improving health care for Canadians
- The federal government is requiring provinces to improve the collection, sharing, use, and reporting of health data as a condition for accessing the enhanced CHT funding. The aim is to increase transparency and monitor the performance and outcomes of health care services.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also proposing a $25 billion investment over a 10-year period through bilateral agreements with each of the provinces and territories that will focus on family health services, health workers and backlogs, mental health and substance use and a “modernized health system.” The premiers of each province and territory will be requested to create an “action plan” that will outline the specific ways wherein the new funding will be utilized, as well as the methods that will be used to measure and track progress on the health care system.
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