Opinion: Instead of increased medical spending, reallocating money from it to housing, poverty and education might make us all healthier
That’s slim consolation to the millions of Canadians who have no family doctor, whose wait times for surgeries, cancer treatments and other procedures fall far outside the guidelines, or to those who have waited unconscionably long hours in emergency rooms.Sign up to know what's really happening by reading daily editorials and commentary by British Columbia's opinion leadersBy clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
“In the 1970s, provincial governments consistently spent more on social services and education than they did on medical care,” says Paul Kershaw, an alliance member and professor at the University of B.C.’s school of population health. “Now, the opposite is true.” Demographics have shifted in the past 50 years. Now, one in five Canadians is 65 or older. Many are frail and require complex medical care.
Now, with fewer taxpayers, where is the money going to come from since the health budget already eats up 40 per cent of provincial governments’ spending? The only choices are increased taxes or from other government programs.
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