TORONTO, March 14, 2018 – The Honourable J. David Wake, Ontario’s Temporary Financial Accountability Officer, has released Ontario Health Sector: An Updated Assessment of Ontario Health Spending, a report that provides an updated assessment of Ontario health spending in advance of the upcoming 2018 Ontario Budget.
Since 2012, restraining health spending growth has been one of the Province’s primary measures to achieve a balanced budget. In the 2017 Ontario Budget, the Province announced $6.9 billion in new health funding over three years, which relieved some of the funding restraint. Of the $6.9 billion, $4.2 billion is additional funding for existing programs, $1.5 billion is funding for new programs (mainly the introduction of OHIP+) and the remaining $1.2 billion is a pension accounting adjustment that does not involve any additional cash spending.
Even with the new funding, the FAO estimates that planned health spending will not keep pace with the funding pressure from inflation and Ontario’s growing and aging population. Unless the Province can find significant efficiencies within the health sector, there is a risk that increased spending will be required to avoid compromising health care access or quality in the coming years.
To learn more about Ontario health spending, and to view the FAO’s report, statement, and technical presentation, click here.
About the FAO
Established by the Financial Accountability Officer Act, 2013, the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) provides independent analysis on the state of the Province’s finances, trends in the provincial economy and related matters important to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Visit our website at http://www.fao-on.org/en/ and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/InfoFAO.
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For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Kismet Baun l 416 254-9232 l kbaun@fao-on.org l fao-on.org
