Canada’s premiers say they are ready to move forward with negotiations on Ottawa’s bilateral health deals, but they are also calling for a formal review process for future health funding talks.
The review process they are asking for would pertain to existing deals that are expiring and future negotiations on the Canada Health Transfer.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday, the premiers say they need more long-term predictability in planning for their health-care systems.
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They want a formal review process of the federal government’s health-care funding plans to be established for expiring bilateral health funding agreements by January 2025.
Specifically, they point to the “fiscal cliff” of uncertainty over the scheduled expiry of already-established health funding deals, including 10-year agreements signed in 2017 and 2018 with the provinces that earmarked money specifically for mental health, home care and community care for seniors.
A formal review of these expiring deals is needed “to secure service continuity and funding predictability for programming,” the premiers say in their letter.
Provincial and territorial leaders also want a review looking at the “future path and adequacy of the Canada Health Transfer and the escalator.”
“To achieve our shared goals, further constructive discussions are required to plan for the longer term predictability and stability that Canadians expect in their health care systems,” the letter states.
Last week, Trudeau met with all 13 premiers in Ottawa and presented them with a funding package aimed at addressing their demands for more federal investment in health care.
The federal offer will infuse $46.2 billion in new money for health care over the next decade on top of pre-established health funding streams from Ottawa, which altogether will send $196.1 billion to the provinces and territories over the next 10 years.