BC Reaches Agreement in Principle to Secure $27.47 Billion in Federal Health Care Funding Over the Next 10 Years

BC has finally reached an agreement with Ottawa to increase Federal healthcare funding to the province, following months of negotiations.

Last month, Ottawa unveiled a new plan to provide $196.8 billion in Health Care Transfers to the provinces over the next 10 years.

That included $46.2 billion in fresh funding, but in order to access the majority of that, the Provinces needed to agree certain stipulations.

Along with commitments to improving how health data is shared between jurisdictions, Provinces needed to develop a plan for how to spend the money.

BC has now reached an agreement in principle which will see them gain access to $27.5 billion in Federal health funding over the next decade.

$3.32 billion of that will come via a new bilateral agreement which will focus on the shared priorities of the two levels of government.

Those include: expanding access to quality primary care and mental health and addictions services, supporting health care workers, and improving electronic information sharing between health professionals.

Of the new funding, $273 million will come via a one-time top-up to address urgent needs including pediatric care, and reducing emergency wait times.