Managing the Cost of Healthcare for an Aging Population: Manitoba's Looming Funding Gap

Abstract

“We know there is nothing more important to Manitoba families than the health of their loved ones. That’s why health care has always been our top priority. Mr. Speaker, we are focused on expanding care instead of costs.” (Manitoba Budget Address 2012, p. 3).Manitobans carry a $100 billion fiscal burden – the higher tax bill for increased healthcare costs over the next half-century – and should prepare now for the coming demographic squeeze, says a report released today from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Managing the Cost of Healthcare for an Aging Population: Manitoba’s Looming Funding Gap,” authors Colin Busby and William B.P. Robson recommend that Manitoba prefund selected healthcare services, and find cost savings and efficiencies by benchmarking against other provinces that get better bang for their bucks in some areas.