Doctors urge Ottawa to provide $ 21 billion more for the decade in health care for seniors



[ad_1]

OTTAWA – Physicians call on federal government to invest an additional $ 21 billion over the next decade to help provinces and territories meet the high costs of health care that will come with inevitable growth of the elderly population of Canada. A new badysis, to be released Tuesday by the Canadian Medical Association, urges Ottawa to provide more and more annual supplements to the federal health transfer program.

Pressure is mounting on the provinces and territories, which will see their health costs rise by an additional $ 93 billion over the next 10 years – about 1.8% of their governments' spending – as the population, prevents the study. The document was prepared on behalf of the CMA by the Conference Board of Canada.

"Our health care system was designed at a time when the median age in Canada was 27 years old. Today, he is 40 years old and our system is not working well. "Laurent Marcoux, president of the CMA, said in a statement

" Canadians and physicians are right to worry about the demands that will be placed on the health care system in the future. "

Annual meeting of the Council of the Federation of First Ministers, which will begin Wednesday in St. Andrews, New Brunswick

Health spending, which is an important part of provincial budgets, should be a topic important during the meeting and the CMA urges Premiers to lobby Ottawa for more funding to meet the needs of seniors.

This week, we also expect that Seniors are receiving a lot of political attention at the federal level

Wednesday and the sources said t here is a possibility Ottawa will appoint a minister dedicated to seniors. Elders and supporters urged the Trudeau government to bring back the post.

The Conference Board's report figures show why we are focusing on the aging of the Canadian population on an inescapable trajectory The results show that the proportion of seniors in Canada will increase to 21% over the next decade from its current level of 16.9%. The health care costs for the average senior are around $ 12,000 a year, compared to $ 2,700 for all others.

However, the concern is how Canada's cash-strapped governments – federal, provincial or territorial – will find

The federal government transfers funds to the provinces and territories to help pay for care health. The study estimates that federal health transfers account for about 22% of all state-funded health care.

The authors predict that health costs will increase faster than the economy. They expect the federal transfer to increase by 3.6% per year over the next decade, while health care costs are projected to increase by 5.1% per year.

Without change, provincial and territorial governments will be stuck to pay the difference. the report said.

The study noted that as the price tag on health swells in the coming years, governments will also find themselves facing additional economic pressures related to the aging of the population. Beyond the growing proportion of older people, the report predicts that the country will also have to cope with the increasing pressure of costs from other sources, including population growth, the improvement of the active population. quality of care and inflation due to rising prices of drugs, medical services and hospital maintenance.

[ad_2]
Source link