EDITORIAL: B.C. needs to have healthy discussion
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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 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. The health system could be administered by the provincial government, with MLAs and the government being held accountable for how it operates.
Whatever route it takes, Victoria must have a solid plan in place.
What do you think? Should the government eliminate health regions and administer health care provincially? Vote in our Question of the Week online poll.
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