Fentie to pursue renewal of special health care funding

While acknowledging the federal cash top-up to cover the Yukon’s annual health care bill should be temporary,

While acknowledging the federal cash top-up to cover the Yukon’s annual health care bill should be temporary, Premier Dennis Fentie is not giving up seeking a renewal of the multimillion-dollar pact between the territories and Ottawa.

“It’s about access to comparable services; that’s why there’s a territorial health access arrangement and we discussed how we continue that,” said Fentie, who is also the Yukon’s Finance minister.

Fentie made the remarks Friday afternooon following the semi-annual meeting of the country’s finance leaders in Whitehorse, where Canada’s pension system was the focus of discussions.

However, a five-year, $150-million health funding deal for the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut is set to expire in March 2010. Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Ottawa does not want the program to become permanent.

“This was a five-year program with a sunset at the five-year mark,” Flaherty said.

The Yukon’s share amounted to $6 million annually over five years and was equal to a significant portion of out-of-territory health travel.

Fentie described the infusion – modest when stacked against the Yukon’s $229-million health care budget for 2009 – as necessary for maintaining service levels.

“Whatever the (new transfer) mechanism is, it is intended make sure it’s a temporary program to continue on with doing what we’ve been doing over the last five years in building up our health care system,” Fentie said.

Operating costs for the territory’s health and social services have ballooned 54 per cent since Fentie’s Yukon Party took power in 2002, what officials in the Finance department have called unsustainable.

A review of Yukon’s health care system released a year ago warned that if costs continue to rise at the current rate, the territory’s health budget could double by 2018.