Share on Facebook
- Health Care
Where we are today:
B.C. is consistently ranked as having one of the best health care systems in Canada. We've made huge reforms and investments in our approach to both prevention and treatment of disease.
Challenges and Opportunities:
There are significant challenges to be addressed in health care. Ten years ago health care accounted for 34 per cent of all government spending. Today it’s 44 per cent and that number is climbing steadily. We also have a rapidly aging population. In just over two decades, one in four British Columbians will be over 65. As a result the demands on the system are increasing at exponential rates.
Discussion:
What is the right proportion of total spending that government should put to healthcare? Should government focus more money on proactive prevention to reduce our needs in the coming decades, and if so how should we balance those investments against what we also need to invest in direct treatment? Are there smarter ways of getting better performance out of our current system, for example having per-patient funding rather than 'block' funding to hospitals?
|