Plans need to be made to avoid rising healthcare costs: report
Posted December 17, 2014 12:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – With our aging population set to impose a big financial burden on the next generation, a new report suggests some forward planning.
The C.D. Howe Institute is calling for more taxes now in order to make things more sustainable in the long-term.
“If BC were to avoid any increase in taxes over that time, what the province would need to carry would be about $380-billion in a saving fund,” says Colin Busby from the institute.
It’s also recommending cost-savings measures including allowing lower-cost healthcare workers to take on some jobs only doctors can do as it stands.
“The idea would be to add an additional payroll tax now to put aside money and to save money to pay for a lot of those demographically linked future costs,” says Busby.
The report also recommends increased use of electronic rather than paper record keeping and incentives for patients to look after their own health.
