The Fiscal Sustainability of Alberta's Public Health Care System

Livio Di Matteo and Rosanna Di Matteo

SPP Research Papers, 2009, vol. 2, issue 2

Abstract: The long-term fiscal sustainability of Canada’s publicly funded provincial health care systems is under pressure from an aging population, expensive technological advances, and expanding coverage that is pushing up against constraints on provincial government revenues. Alberta, for example, enjoys the benefit of energy royalties, but the volatility of this bounty has been high-lighted by the recent collapse in energy prices and the loss of upwards of $6 billion in resource royalties. Other provincial governments enjoy more stable sources of revenue but are constrained in their health care choices by heavier tax burdens and larger public debt loads. This paper examines the challenges faced by governments as they attempt to satisfy the needs of the public today, without compromising the needs of future generations.

Date: 2009
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