Following the recent election of the Parti Québécois (PQ), the Institute for Socioeconomic Research and Information (IRIS) is calling for a significant increase in funding for prevention and primary care services. While the PQ pledged an extra $500 million annually during the campaign, IRIS argues that a much higher investment of $6.8 billion per year is needed.
According to the left-leaning research institute, these investments could be balanced out by reducing costs in secondary and tertiary care, resulting in a net expense of $1.5 billion yearly. Speaking to The Canadian Press, IRIS researcher Anne Plourde emphasized the importance of enhancing access to care and public health to ultimately achieve cost savings.
Currently, Quebec allocates over $60 billion to healthcare, with plans to increase spending further. Plourde criticizes the system’s heavy focus on specialized services, stating that primary care should cater to 80% of the population’s needs, yet most funds are directed towards secondary and tertiary care.
IRIS suggests tripling the number of healthcare workers in CLSCs and transferring a significant portion of private sector healthcare employees to the public sector. While the PQ plans to establish a new healthcare agency, IRIS believes that this move may not significantly impact public service access.
The study by IRIS highlights a lack of official data on frontline care expenditures and workforce distribution in Quebec, underscoring the need for transparency and reevaluation of healthcare funding priorities.
