Government Spending: Page Report and Health Care

government spending: Premier Doug Ford promised to cut overall government spending by 6 billion a year, or about four per cent, according to The Toronto Star. Steve Russell / Toronto Star Transforming health care and balancing the budget without revenue increases will be a significant challenge if the status quo is maintained, says the 21-page report from the office headed by Peter Weltman. The independent Financial Accountability Office says recent government decisions to add 15,000 nursing home beds, spend 1.9 billion on mental health over 10 years and the added costs of pay raises to doctors in a new contract are increasing fiscal pressures. He projects health spending will rise from 61.3 billion this fiscal year about 41 per cent of spending on government programs to 73.3 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, an increase of 12 billion. Article Continued Below Restraining health sector spending to this extent without compromising health care access or quality would be a significant challenge, Weltman warned. While the accountability office established by the previous Liberal government previously saw a path to balancing the budget solely through spending restraint over a four-year period, that would no longer be possible unless the projected increases in health spending are cut by about two-thirds, the report adds. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.