The Conservative Party of British Columbia is proposing a healthcare system that retains a single-payer structure while introducing the option for care delivery through both public and private providers. This approach, inspired by healthcare models in Europe and Australia, aims to improve healthcare accessibility and efficiency.The Conservative Party of British Columbia is proposing a healthcare system that retains a single-payer structure while introducing the option for care delivery through both public and private providers. This approach, inspired by healthcare models in Europe and Australia, aims to improve healthcare accessibility and efficiency. Under this proposal, patients would continue to access care through a single-payer system, ensuring universal coverage. However, they would also have the option to seek healthcare services from non-governmental facilities, including private providers. The Conservative Party believes that this approach will provide greater choice and flexibility for patients. To address wait times, the Conservatives pledge to reduce administrative costs and redirect those resources towards frontline workers. They argue that this shift will streamline the healthcare system and improve staffing ratios, ultimately reducing wait times for services such as cancer diagnoses and surgeries. The party also plans to address the issue of healthcare worker shortages in rural communities. They propose implementing financial incentives to attract and retain medical professionals in underserved areas. Additionally, they aim to eliminate the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which they believe has contributed to staff shortages and emergency department closures. The Conservative Party maintains that the transition to this new healthcare system will require initial spending increases. They expect these costs to level off over time as the system becomes more efficient and cost-effective. The party emphasizes that their priority is to put patients first and ensure that healthcare resources are allocated to meet patient needs. While the Conservative Party has not provided a detailed cost estimate for their healthcare plan, they recognize that managing provincial finances will be a challenge. They pledge to prioritize healthcare spending and work towards balancing the budget, while focusing on delivering patient-centered services.
Conservatives in British Columbia are promising a single-payer system where care is delivered through public and private providers
British Columbia Conservative Party Leader John Rustad is pledging to reform the provincial health care system based on models used in Europe and Australia, among other measures announced Thursday.
Rustad said British Columbia’s health care system would remain a single-payer system that care through both governmental and “nongovernmental” facilities. These nongovernmental facilities can be private facilities or types of organizations.
“I don’t want to be biased in any way,” he said. This is about making better use of existing resources and expanding services for patients, he added.
This promise to provide health care through non-public providers is perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Conservative proposal, but Rustad points to the experiences of Scandinavian countries. He said they provide better health care for less money than Canada, citing various national rankings.
“All we have to do is look at the results,” he said, when asked about a potential backlash from a growing private component in health care. “Other jurisdictions around the world are doing much, much better than we are.”
He also stressed that patients will not notice any difference in the quality of care.
Conservatives also pledge to reduce wait times, which could mean British Columbians will travel to other jurisdictions to access different types of care.
“So when it comes to diagnostic services or surgeries, these are the wait times we’re talking about,” Rustad said. “We’ll work with health care professionals and … try to meet the standards that should be set for acceptable wait times for services.”
Rustad specifically called the wait times for cancer diagnoses and surgeries “horrific” and “unacceptable.”
Rustad paired this promise to reduce wait times with a promise to shift resources from health care administrators to frontline workers, drawing a comparison between Canada and Germany. While Germany has twice the population, it has one-tenth the number of administrators, he said.
Conservatives called Thursday’s announcement the first major policy announcement ahead of this fall’s provincial elections. But some elements had already come to light.
Speaking to the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce last month, Rustad cited European health care systems as models to emulate. Thursday’s announcement also saw provincial Conservatives reiterate their long-held pledge to roll back changes to the law regarding medical professionals and eliminate the vaccine mandate for health care workers to prevent emergency department closures in rural communities.
Rustad said a Conservative government would drop the vaccine mandate from day one of taking office.
“We are also going to make sure that we put in place a monetary system to incentivize health care workers – doctors, nurses and other health care professionals – who work in those underserved (rural) areas, so that they can perform better…” he said.
Other measures announced include steps to protect healthcare workers from the harmful effects of drug use in hospitals, among other safety measures, and measures to improve the system through greater transparency and accountability of data.
Thursday’s announcement included a series of statistics that underscored key arguments regarding the state of the provincial health care system.
“Our system is collapsing,” he said. “Throwing more money at this problem is not going to solve it.”
Thursday’s announcement did not include a cost estimate. Nearly four out of every 10 public dollars spent in B.C. goes to health care, and Rustad acknowledged he lacks “precise numbers.”
“But our priority will be to put patients first and ensure the resources are available to deliver the services needed,” he said.
Rustad said he expects an “initial peak in spending” that will eventually level off as the transition to a Scandinavian health system delivers savings and improves performance.
When asked how this “initial spending spike” would square with the promise to get B.C.’s budget back under control, Rustad said an incoming Conservative government would have to “take a deep dive” and look at the current numbers. Rustad criticized B.C.’s record deficit of nearly $8 billion as “completely unacceptable” because it “burdens” future generations with “irresponsible spending.”
But he acknowledged that reforming provincial finances would be a challenge.
“I don’t expect us to go straight back to a balanced budget,” he said. “We’re going to work on that path to get back to a balanced budget. But we have to make sure that we put priorities first and that patients are the highest priority for us in terms of health care and that patient services are delivered to patients.”
