The cost of health care delivery is rising and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) says increased demand and compensation is a big part of the equation.
CIHI projects health care spending in Canada to outpace economic growth with an increase of up to 5.7 per cent this year. That compares to a 4.5 per cent increase in 2023 and a 1.7 per cent increase in 2022.
The manager of health expenditures with CIHI, Chris Kuchciak, says health spending in this province will reach about $6 billion in 2024, amounting to $11,030 per person, and representing 15 per cent of the province’s gross domestic product.
Kuchciak says among the reasons for the increase is greater demand and the cost of health care delivery itself, including recruitment and retention.
He says compensation is the biggest ticket item in terms of health care spending including overtime, sick leave and the use of private agency workers to fill gaps in the public system.
A report released in September by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union showed that some parts of the province are paying the highest rates in Canada for private agency nurses.
The provincial government announced earlier this year that its aim was to trim the use of such nurses which cost government in excess of $86 million in the first three quarters of 2023-24.
