The premier of New Brunswick says it鈥檚 鈥渆xciting鈥� and 鈥渆ncouraging鈥� the federal government and the provinces are getting closer to a long-term health-care funding deal, but that he鈥檚 doubtful the premiers will receive the full amount they鈥檙e asking for.
Blaine Higgs told CTV鈥檚 Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday, the negotiations over whether the federal government will send more money to the provinces for health care 鈥� plus how much they鈥檒l send and with what conditions attached 鈥� have 鈥渞amped up significantly in the last few weeks鈥� after a 鈥渓ong process.鈥�
The provinces have long been calling for the federal government to increase funds through the Canada Health Transfer from 22 per cent to 35 per cent of health-care costs, about an additional $28 billion a year.
鈥淚t isn鈥檛 my sense that they'll come with the full amount, let's put it that way,鈥� Higgs said. 鈥淏ut between where we are and where we've asked, there's a number in there somewhere.鈥�
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos signalled this week the federal government may be getting closer to a deal with the provinces, while some premiers have also said they may be willing to accept some of the federal government's conditions.
鈥淚 would like to recognize that there has been significant progress over the last few weeks,鈥� Duclos said Friday. 鈥淚鈥檓 positive and optimistic, as the prime minister is also, as he has signaled earlier this week.鈥�
鈥淎nd that's because we have seen a shift towards a focus on what matters to Canadians, which are results for patients and health-care workers," he also said.
METRICS MAY VARY BY PROVINCE
The federal government鈥檚 conditions include access to family health teams; reducing backlogs in surgeries and diagnostics; retaining, recruiting, and recognizing the credentials of health-care workers; investing in mental health; and modernizing the system so medical records can be shared with various providers, electronically.
Higgs said his understanding is those outcomes and the metrics for their success could vary by province, but they could include indicators such as the number of people without a family doctor, or the status of critical surgeries or treatment, for example.
He said the federal government and the provinces are likely to start by sharing data, and from there ironing out 鈥渋ndividual nuances鈥� according to specific provinces.
鈥淪o you're going to go through a number of key areas and say: 鈥榦kay, how does that look across the country, and where do we see major areas that are not falling within provincial standard or Canadian standard鈥�, and that would likely end up being tied to the improvement, and we would be left to find the best way to achieve that,鈥� he explained. 鈥淏ut I think to say it's tied to an actual result is a good thing.鈥�
Higgs said the plan is for a long-term funding model, as opposed to a 鈥渙ne-off situation.鈥�
鈥淢aybe some of the metrics would change over time,鈥� Higgs said. 鈥淚f you reach the standards in one area, then it goes to another and there may be an ongoing requirement to demonstrate that it's getting results.鈥�
鈥淎nd that's fine,鈥� he also said. 鈥淚 think a continuous improvement program is important in any field, but it needs to be a funding formula that we can count on and is an ongoing contribution from the federal government.鈥�
Duclos hasn鈥檛 specified how close they are to a deal, only to say it鈥檚 likely in the 鈥渃oming weeks,鈥� which could signal it will be before the next federal budget, typically tabled in the spring.
With files from CTVNews.ca鈥檚 senior digital parliamentary reporter Rachel Aiello
