MLAs should regain authority over health
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Updated: July 22, 2009 4:12 PM
The provincial government will not top up health authority budgets, which means that Fraser Health Authority is going to have to find $160 million — in new revenue, or through cuts.
Most of that will come in the form of cuts, with elective surgery capped and waiting lists growing longer.
While the government is right to be concerned about the ballooning cost of health care, it’s unfortunate that this subject wasn’t discussed more thoroughly in the recent election campaign. At that time, there was no hint of cuts to health authority budgets, and the subject of health care rarely came up.
There have been some rumours that new Health Minister Kevin Falcon would like to eliminate all six health authorities, as has happened recently in Alberta.
He will get no opposition from this corner, as long as every single dollar that is saved is from the administration side of the budget. There is too much overlapping administration at FHA, and that is likely the case at other health authorities as well.
The other big problem with health authorities is that they are not accountable to the public. The board members are appointed by the government, but they have no real authority to criticize government funding plans. While there are occasional public meetings, these are just for show.
The health system should be administered by the provincial government, with elected MLAs and the government being held fully accountable for how it operates. As health care is largely paid for from taxes and user fees imposed by the province, provincial politicians must be accountable for its successes and failures.
On occasion, there may be a need for a reduction in elective surgeries. But any such reduction should be of a very short duration, as there have been waiting lists for many surgical procedures for years, and waiting often proves more expensive for both patients and the system in the long run.
The health care system will only get more costly as the population ages, and Victoria must have a solid plan in place that recognizes that fact.
— Langley Times
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