Federal health funding promise ends

Federal health funding promise ends - for now

Federal Finance Minster Jim Flaherty has indicated that there is no promise to increase the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) to the provinces by 6% per year beyond the first two years after the ten year accord expires in 2014.

The public won the promise for the two years during the election -- but that's where it ends, for now.

More bad news: the Globe and Mail reports that newly re-elected Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall wants to tie federal funding 'to health care "innovation," a term sometimes used to describe increased private-sector involvement.'

Wall wants to create more conditions for his province to meet before it receives federal funding, it seems.

Meanwhile, the federal government doesn't much bother to ensure that the provinces meet the existing conditions for federal funding, i.e. the five principles of the Canada Health Act that guarantee universal, comprehensive, accessible, portable, and publicly administered health care.

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