B131 PHASED OUT CONTRIBUTIONS FROM REGIONAL HOSPITAL DISTRICTS FOR CAPITAL EXPENDITURES Vernon
WHEREAS Regional Hospital Districts and local tax payers cannot be expected to carry the full burden of addressing the massive capital costs required to upgrade neglected and aging hospital facilities in British Columbia:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government be urged to phase out contributions from Regional Hospital Districts toward the cost of health care capital expenditures.
NOT PRESENTED TO THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Refer to UBCM Executive
UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS:
The Resolutions Committee notes that UBCM memberships has not previously considered a request to urge the Provincial Government to phase out contributions from Regional Hospital Districts for health care capital expenditures. Members have previously endorsed a number of resolutions calling on the provincial government to provide adequate funding to Regional Health Authorities and to commit to their 60% share of health care capital project funding (2007-B184, 2005-B42; 2004-B28; 2002-A2). Regional Hospital Districts were created in 1967, in an effort to establish a consistent approach to funding of hospital projects. The regional hospital districts provide the local share for financing health facilities and equipment. RHDs and the province cost share the capital costs associated with health facilities that operate under the authority of the Hospital Act, with the RHDs responsible for paying up to 40% of the capital costs and the province paying the rest. Health authorities are responsible for the assessment of program and capital needs and for the development of strategic plans to address both program and capital needs. They are also responsible for prioritizing their capital initiatives and to submit their prioritized capital plans to the Ministry of Health. The prioritized initiatives are pooled in a provincial portfolio of prioritized health capital investment reports. Health authorities advise and request approval from RHDs on cost sharable projects. UBCM and the Ministry of Health have jointly commissioned a review of the implementation of the recommendations from the 2003 Regional Hospital District Cost Sharing Review. The reported will be issued in Fall 2008.
The Resolutions Committee recommends that this resolution be referred to the UBCM Executive Committee, as there is no recommendation until the report is available in Fall 2008.
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