Price based funding and privatization-- BC Minister comes clean

BC is introducing a system of price-based funding for specific hospital procedures.  It sounds similar to the model that Ontario plans to introduce.

The BC Health Minister now admits their model could see private clinics competing with hospitals to provide publicly funded surgeries. He claims they will ‘be a pretty small piece of the pie’.  CUPE has long claimed price based funding would open doors to privatization -- even while the Ontario government disimissed such concerns.

The for-profits are delighted by the BC Minister's announcement. BC is aiming to have 20% of acute services paid for by price based funding in 2012-3.   While Ontario is not moving as fast (an election is upcoming, after all), there are reports that the province is aiming for 40% of services funded through price-based funding. And like BC, Ontario is starting the new funding system with the bigger hospitals

dallan@cupe.ca

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