In a presentation to the national Romanow Commission on the Future of Health Care in Charlottetown today, Premier Pat Binns and Health and Social Services Minister Jamie Ballem made several recommendations to ensure the sustainability of Canada's publicly funded and publicly administered health care system.
The recommendations made by the Premier and the Minister were to reinforce the values of Canadians as expressed through the principles of the Canada Health Act; ensure Canada's health care system remains publicly funded and publicly administered, but allows for continued assessment of alternatives for innovative delivery of services; reinforce the importance of population health and wellness in improving the sustainability of the health system; and recommend a stronger role for the federal government as a funding partner in Canada's health system, both in terms of base funding and system innovation.
"Islanders want to maintain our publicly funded and publicly administered health care system because it is the most fair and efficient way to ensure that all Canadians have equal access to health care, regardless of where they live, or their ability to pay," said the Premier. "We believe our current system can be sustained, and improved, if the federal government re-commits to providing an equitable share of funding for health care," said the Premier.
Total provincial spending on health care in Prince Edward Island has increased more than 44 percent over the past five years. Examples of program areas where there have been significant increases include: provincial drug programs, 80%; long term care, 33%, salaries and benefits, 25%; physician services, 40%; home care, 80%; ambulance services, 95%; and blood services, 127%.
"While health care costs and provincial spending have escalated, federal funding has declined significantly," said Premier Binns. "To illustrate, the amount of federal funding we expect to receive this year for health and social programs through the CHST is $ 89 million, which is considerably less than the amount we received ten years ago of $94 million through the CAP/EPF formula. While our provincial health systems have evolved to meet the needs of Canadians, our Medicare system has not."
Premier Binns suggested that if the federal government wants to maintain the authority to enforce the principles of the Canada Health Act, it must pay a larger and more equitable share of health care costs. He suggested this can best be done by implementing the recommendations made by all Premiers earlier this year in Vancouver.
Those recommendations were to immediately remove the Equalization ceiling and begin work on the development of a strengthened and fairer Equalization formula, including as one possible alternative, a ten-province standard; and to restore federal funding through the CHST to pre 1994-1995 levels, or at least 18 percent of what the provinces and territories are now spending on health care, with the addition of an appropriate escalator to meet rising costs.
Health and Social Services Minister Jamie Ballem advised that there are also opportunities to sustain the current system by improving the health of the population and the appropriate utilization of health services. "Our Strategic Plan for the Health and Social Services System outlines several strategies to improve sustainability through an increased focus on primary health care, wellness, healthy child development, and influencing the broader determinants of health," said the minister. "We have a clear vision of where we want to go as a system, and we believe this can be achieved with adequate funding to support the transitions to improved service delivery models."
Minister Ballem outlined several areas where P.E.I. has made advancements in service delivery including health promotion and chronic disease prevention, healthy child development, community mental health, disability supports, health information systems, and human resource planning. "All provinces and territories have made good progress in identifying needed reforms to improve our systems. Additional federal transition funding could go a long way in helping us to properly implement these reforms, and share our successes with each other."
Premier Binns also suggested the need for more collaboration among federal, provincial and territorial agencies to address emerging issues in health care, such as access to highly specialized services, new drugs, and an adequate supply and appropriate mix of health professionals. "We don't have the human or financial resources to be duplicating this work in every province," said the Premier. "A more collaborative approach to these emerging issues can improve our effectiveness, reduce unnecessary duplication, and prevent the development of a ten-tier system in Canada where your level of access to quality health care depends on which province you choose to live in, or visit."
Copies of the Premier and Minister's presentations can be obtained by visiting the provincial government web site at www.gov.pe.ca.