Edmonton, February 24, 2000 - Bold moves to ensure that Albertans have access to health services when they need them are the major focus of the 2000-01 budget and business plan released by Health and Wellness Minister Halvar Jonson. Funding will be increased to improve access to key services, hire additional nurses and other front-line staff, compensate more physicians for their services and to maintain a quality publicly funded system over the longer-term.

These moves support the government’s funding commitment for the public health system as stated in its six-point plan for protecting and promoting public health care.

Health and Wellness spending will increase by nearly $1.1 billion to $6.26 billion, an increase of 21% over the next three years. Total Health and Wellness spending in 2000-01 will increase by $482 million to $5.653 billion, an increase of 9.3% over the current year’s base budget.

"New health spending is necessary because of the pressures on the health system due to population growth, the aging population, new technologies and availability of new kinds of services," Jonson said.

Highlights of Health and Wellness spending increases include:

• An additional 2,400 front-line staff, especially in the areas of emergency wards, long-term care, home care and acute care over three years.
  
  
• Total base budget funding for Health Authorities increases by $218 million in 2000-01, an increase of 7.7%, and by $497 million over three years, a 17.6% increase.
  
  
• Regional Health Authorities will also get an increase of $47 million, or 18.2%, for Province-Wide Services, those key life-saving procedures primarily in Calgary and Edmonton. This will increase the number of major surgeries such as angioplasties, coronary bypasses, bone-marrow transplants and kidney dialysis treatments.
  
  
• More funding to enable regional health authorities to do more hip and knee replacements
  
  
• Expanded home care services. About 70,000 Albertans are receiving more than 6 million hours in 1999-2000, compared to 53,000 and 2.3- million hours in 1992-93.
  
  
• Total funding for the Alberta Mental Health Board will increase by $16.4- million in 2000-01, or 9.8 per cent over 1999-2000, including $5 million for community mental health. This means an overall budget increase from $167.9 million to $184.3 million.
  
  
• Increased funding for Health Authorities includes an additional $58 million over three years to help replace essential medical equipment, starting with $38 million in 2000-01. A $10 million annual allocation is budgeted for high-tech medical equipment such as MRIs.

Support for other health services will increase by $188 million in 2000-01 and $426 million over three years. This additional funding will:

• Provide for an additional 90 physicians in 2000-01, adding to the steady increase in the number of physicians practicing in Alberta over the past few years.
  
  
• Add 20 post-graduate residency positions to Alberta’s medical schools in 2000-01. Another 20 positions are planned for 2001-02.
  
  
• Provide for the growing need and cost of blood and blood products.
  
  
• Provide support for the cost of drugs for lower income Albertans and seniors.
  
  
• Expand health promotion and prevention programs, addiction prevention and treatment programs.
  
  
• Implement a new cervical cancer screening program and a new early detection breast cancer screening plan for all women in their high-risk years.
  
  
• Launch a new five-year immunization strategy, aimed primarily at children.
  
  
• Provide $15 million through the Health Innovation Fund in 2000-01 to test ways to improve patient access, better integrate health service delivery, ensure health system affordability and enhance health outcomes.
  
  
• Provide for the new Premier’s Advisory Council on Health and the new Health Services Utilization Commission to support improvements of the health system.
  
  
• Expand Telehealth Services to all parts of the province with equitable access to psychiatry, diagnostic and other services. A secure Pharmaceutical Information Network will improve the quality of drug therapies for Albertans.

Funding for services for persons with developmental disabilities will increase by $68 million over the next three years, including $29 million in 2000-01, to address projected growth in costs and caseloads.

"The health funding increases announced today meet this government's commitment to address health system pressures by increasing resources when clearly needed," Jonson said. "The increases also meet this government's commitment to ensure that all Albertans have access to a quality publicly funded health system."

Spending on health is the government’s largest single expenditure, Jonson added, noting that health spending will account for one-third of total government spending by 2002-03, compared to one quarter in 1992-93.

"Money alone will not solve all the pressures on health. There are limits to the dollars that can be provided," he cautioned. "Taxpayers’ dollars must be directed to where they will make a real difference, to areas where the system is under stress and where services must be enhanced."

Jonson added, "Everyone in the health system must continue to work together to find better and more efficient ways of delivering health services, so that we can maintain a quality publicly funded system in this province."

Go to:  Next Budget 2000 News Release or Backgrounder

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