August 24, 2022
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) says health authorities in B.C. gave out about $393 million worth of contracts to private clinics to provide surgeries and medical imaging over the past six years, with a 57% surge in annual payments from the 2015/16 fiscal year to 2020/21. The CCPA claims research shows private clinics contribute to staffing shortages in the public healthcare system and fail to reduce wait times over the long term and that private delivery is both more costly and is associated with poorer health outcomes. B.C. health minister Adrian Dix raised questions about the accuracy of some of the think tank’s numbers and is adamant that its conclusions are false.