Canada health-care spending growth expected to stall after COVID surge: report

The total health spending in Canada is still expected to rise by 0.8 per cent this year, however that's much lower than the 7.6 per cent increase seen in 2021.

The growth in health spending seen during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic will slow dramatically in 2022, predicts a report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

The total health spending in Canada is still expected to rise by 0.8 per cent this year, however that’s much lower than the 7.6 per cent increase seen in 2021, and the 13.2 per cent surge in 2020.

The annual report released Thursday said the country’s health spending, including public and private expenditure, is projected to be $331 billion in 2022 – or $8,563 per Canadian – and around 12 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product for the year.

Chris Kuchciak, the manager of health expenditures at the Canadian Institute for Health Information, said COVID-19 was the main driver of health spending growth in the past two years.

But that is changing in 2022.

Kuchciak said the return of health-care services that were deferred during the pandemic and demographic changes such as population growth and an aging population are taking over as the drivers of spending growth.

“I liken it to a horse race where the last two years, COVID was way out in front driving spending. That has fallen back into the pack,” he said.