Sask. budget increases health care spending by $431M, critics say more is needed

The Saskatchewan government is touting an increase to health care spending in its 2023 budget, but critics say more could be done.

Wednesday's 2023-24 provincial budget set spending for the Ministry of Health at $6.9 billion, an increase of $431 million or 6.7 per cent.

Health Minister Paul Merriman said the money will go to good use as the province continues to deal with effects of inflation, and works to train and attract new employees while retaining existing workers.

"Everything is getting more expensive. Certainly in our health-care system, the wages is our largest expense, but it's also our greatest investment," he said. 

"So I'm very happy with the dollars that we got allocated." 

Jim Farney, director at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy's University of Regina campus, told CBC's The Afternoon Edition that with high inflation, a six or seven per cent increase is almost nothing.

"I think what it does is, it barely keeps things level," he said. 

Critics said Wednesday that the budget didn't do nearly enough to address the issues facing the province's health-care system.

"You know, when people can't get access to a family doctor or a nurse practitioner, there is a very big problem in this province. We do not see that being addressed by this government in this budget," said NDP health critic Vicki Mowat. 

Merriman pointed to ongoing efforts to recruit nurses from the Philippines as an example of what the province is doing to hire needed health-care workers.

He also said the province continues to work on recruiting for 250 new full-time positions, and enhancing part-time positions to full-time in rural and remote areas. That plan was announced in September 2022 as part of the Health and Human Resources Action Plan, which is being funded through three ministries.

The province says that as of Feb. 24, nearly 100 of the 250 full-time position had been filled.

On that same date, the province had postings online for 15 anesthesiologists, 23 psychiatrists, 25 pediatricians and 196 family physicians, according to data provided by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. 

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents some Saskatchewan health-care workers, once again raised concerns Wednesday about private sector health care. 

CUPE Saskatchewan president Judy Henley said private contract employees can make twice as much as other health-care staff working alongside them, which can create terrible morale on the front lines.

Henley said the province needs to do more for the public sector workers it already employs. 

"The vast majority of the jobs that are out there are part time and relief. There's no guarantee of hours, so there's no incentive for people to stay in those jobs," Henley said.

"They need to look at it and create full-time jobs out in the rural areas where people will feel comfortable."

EMS funding welcomed, but wholesale change called for

Saskatchewan is also increasing funding for emergency medical services in the province to the tune of $8.8 million. 

The money will go toward stabilizing services in rural and remote areas, and providing additional support for contracted EMS operators. 

Mowat welcomed the province doing more for emergency services in the province, including ambulance care, but said it was long overdue.

The Opposition has been calling for changes to EMS for more than a decade, she said. 

"We have a patchwork system that includes private, nonprofit and for-profit providers," Mowat said. "[This funding is] a drop in the bucket in terms of what's needed for EMS reform in this province."

Funding meant to address surgery and imaging backlog 

The budget includes an additional $42.5 million for surgeries, with a goal of reducing the surgical wait-list to "pre-COVID levels" by the end of March 2024. The money will cover approximately 6,000 procedures, according to the province. 

LISTEN | Saskatchewan Union of Nurses says provincial budget is 'an abysmal disappointment':

On Wednesday, Merriman said the majority of those procedures will be performed in SHA facilities, but some will be carried out in private clinics.

"We're going to maximize the operating rooms across the province so we can get all of those operating theatres moving at their capacity, at their maximum capacity," he said.

Roughly 15 per cent of surgeries conducted in Saskatchewan last year were in private clinics, Merriman added.

Saskatchewan will also continue to put money toward medical imaging procedures in the province.

The 2023 budget contains an increase of $7 million for procedures such as CT and MRI scans to reduce wait lists. 

The funding comes despite the federal government's opposition to a strategy used in Saskatchewan that offers private diagnostic imaging services. In Saskatchewan, when a private provider completes an MRI or CT scan that is paid for privately, they are required to conduct a second scan free of charge for an individual who is waiting on the public list. 

The federal government recently cracked down on provinces charging patients for medically necessary imaging services. Ottawa clawed back nearly $750,000 in health transfers from Saskatchewan due to the province's system. 

Mental health funding gets boost

The province increased funding for mental health programs by $12.4 million for a total of $518 million this year, or about 7.5 per cent of the total health budget. 

Rebecca Rackow, director of advocacy, research and public policy development at the Canadian Mental Health Association, said she appreciates the increase to mental health funding, but she still has questions over what it will be dedicated to.

She said she wants the province to look at providing more mental health support in urgent care centres.