Quebec expects to save C$220 million ($199 million) by eliminating hundreds of administrative jobs in health care to help balance the budget next year, Premier Philippe Couillard said. <\/p>\n
We have a very complex health-care system, Couillard, 57, said yesterday in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. Theres a vast reform thats going to be announced this week of doing away with most of the bureaucracy in the system, freeing money to be dedicated to the patients. <\/p>\n
Couillard, a neurosurgeon and former health minister, was elected in April as leader of Canadas second most-populous province after promising to shrink the bureaucracy. He has vowed to plug a C$2.35 billion budget gap in 2015-16 with the help of measures such as spending cuts and a hiring freeze. <\/p>\n
Health care is Quebecs largest expenditure, accounting for about C$37.3 billion, or 43 percent, of the governments program spending of C$86.6 billion this fiscal year. <\/p>\n
Quebecs health-care spending climbed by an average of 5.6 percent a year in the decade ended in March, budget figures show. With demographic projections showing that the provinces working-age population will start declining in 2017, investors such as Hosen Marjaee of Manulife Asset Management warn that costs could climb even faster. <\/p>\n
Since his election, Couillard created two committees to overhaul government programs and the provinces taxation system. He gave the program review committee a mandate to find more than C$3 billion in savings. <\/p>\n
Quebec has long-term demographic issues, Marjaee, who manages about C$19 billion and owns Quebec bonds, said in a telephone interview from Toronto. So far, it appears that the government of Mr. Couillard will take the necessary steps to curb the deficit. <\/p>\n
The health-care reform will likely entail the elimination of regional bodies that oversee hospitals, the premier said. <\/p>\n
Were removing a layer of administration, Couillard said. We have a ministerial layer, a regional layer and a local layer. Were essentially going to do away with the regional layer. <\/p>\n
Cutting costs is difficult, Douglas Offerman, a senior director at Fitch Ratings in New York, said in a telephone interview. There are services that people depend on, and its always challenging. Its the turn of the expense side of the budget to provide some savings now. <\/p>\n
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Quebecs Couillard Plans Health-Care Cuts to Trim Deficit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Quebec expects to save C$220 million ($199 million) by eliminating hundreds of administrative jobs in health care to help balance the budget next year, Premier Philippe Couillard said. We have a very complex health-care system, Couillard, 57, said yesterday in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. Theres a vast reform thats going to be announced this week of doing away with most of the bureaucracy in the system, freeing money to be dedicated to the patients. Continue reading