B.C. premier hosts federal ministers to speak about health-care funding
Posted February 14, 2023 3:24 pm.
B.C.’s premier is hosting federal ministers in Victoria to start hammering out the final deal for more health-care money.
This comes after all premiers agreed to accept Ottawa’s 10-year health-care funding offer, with the focus now turning to bilateral agreements with the federal government.
Premier David Eby says as B.C. looks at creating an action plan to meet the federal criteria for the side deal, the province is broadly supportive of federal priorities around things like mental health, addiction support, and long-term care.
“Things that will relieve pressure in our hospitals so that we don’t have people in beds that should be in long-term care, we don’t have people struggling with mental health and addiction in emergency rooms, to take the pressure off of the system so that the care is there for people when they need it, and that will be our focus in these discussions,” he explained Tuesday.
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Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says there is another key area where federal strings are attached to giving more money: data sharing.
“Healthcare workers find it difficult to exchange information together, difficult for that information to be shared across health settings, across provinces,” he said.
The specifics, however, are still to come, he notes.
“That’s going to come with the action plan that the province and Minister (Adrian) Dix and his team, in particular, will be entirely able to draw on the basis of their priorities with action plans, timelines, and targets that they will be able to share with British Columbians,” Duclos explained.
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Meanwhile, Eby says the additional money at stake in B.C.’s side deal amounts to about $600 million this year, $300 million next year, and between $3 million and $5 million over the next few years.
“Where we’re going to allocate those resources and commitments around providing data and sharing data with the federal government, and working together on areas of shared priorities so we deliver effective health care for British Columbians, that will be the conversation that our officials are engaged in,” he told reporters.
B.C. has been a driving force in pressing for increased money from Ottawa. While the provinces and territories have accepted the federal government’s $46.2 billion offer, that total is a far cry from the ask of an additional $28 billion each year.
