Alta. expected to spend $41.9B on health care in 2023: report

Alberta is projected to spend around $41.9 billion on health care this year, newly released data suggests.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) released its national health expenditure trends report on Thursday, highlighting national and provincial spending forecasts.

Alberta’s forecast for spending increased by 4.6 per cent, up from just over $40 billion in 2022. The 2023 figures represent approximately $9,000 per person in the province.

That total includes spending of approximately $10.6 billion for hospitals, $4.7 billion for other institutions, $6.4 billion for physicians, $5.2 billion for other professionals, $5.3 billion for drugs, $3.2 billion for public health and $1.4 billion for administration.

Alberta trails only Ontario ($126 billion), Quebec ($76.8 billion) and British Columbia ($49.3 billion) in projected spending for 2023.

Nationally, Canada is on track to spend $344 billion on health care this year, approximately $8,740 per Canadian, up by $9 billion (2.8 per cent) from last year.

The provinces account for approximately $225 billion of that total.

Hospitals, physicians and drugs represent more than 50 per cent of total health spending in Canada in 2023.

CIHI attributes the growth in the hospitals and physicians categories to efforts to clear surgical backlogs and wait times.

“Health spending growth has slowed since the peak of the pandemic,” said Ann Chapman, director of Spending and Primary Care at CIHI.

“Staffing shortages in hospitals, the increased need for both hospital and physician services, contract renewals in an environment of persistently high inflation and population aging may be key drivers of health spending in the coming years.”

CIHI works with federal, provincial and territorial partners, along with stakeholders throughout Canada to gather information. The non-profit uses the National Health Expenditure Database to provide details about health spending in Canada.

These estimates are preliminary and may be revised when subsequent data becomes available.