Healthcare is one of the most contentious of topics as the 2024 BC election draws closer and the two leading parties have been firing shots at one another regarding the best way forward.
In a recent media release, the BC NDP has called out Conservative Party of BC leader, John Rustad, saying that his healthcare policy will cut healthcare funding, not increase it.
In Rustad’s recently updated healthcare policy, he outlines their vision to:
- Increase funding by implementing a $30.6 billion operation fund, which would go to “front-line services, not on bureaucratic bloat or administrative inefficiencies.”
- Reallocating funding away from bureaucracy using a single-payer system, allowing care to be delivered through both public and private, non-governmental facilities
- Prioritizing patients with a wait-time guarantee, meaning that patients can seek healthcare out-of-province with full reimbursement
- Supporting hospitals with activity-based funding, which means that hospitals will get paid as they treat patients
Rustad says his policy is about “cutting red tape, prioritizing patients, and empowering healthcare professionals.”
The BC NDPs have been critical of this policy, specifically the funding amounts cited by the Conservatives.
Drawing from this recent Conservative news update, the NDPs said that Rustad’s $30.6 billion is a $3.2 billion health budget cut compared to their proposed $33.8 billion—which is what they had planned on spending on healthcare in their latest budget.
This discrepancy is what led the BC NDPs to criticize Rustad’s proposed policy.
As of this publication, the Conservatives and BC NDP are neck and neck in the polls with both parties projected to receive 44% of the popular vote, according to 338Canada.
The BC Green Party is polling at 11% for the popular vote.
Election day will be on Saturday, October 19th.
