​Looking Under the Hood of Health Care Spending

This is the undertaking of the current government as described in the article by Barbara Simpson and published in the TJ on April 23, 2025.   The phrase takes its roots from the Budget Speech of the Minister of Finance as he delivered this government’s first budget in the Legislature in March of this year.

In that speech, and in subsequent discussion in the legislature, the Minister was pressed on government’s platform commitment to balance the budget while projecting a serious deficit in their first year in power.  As to the huge health file, which constitutes nearly half of government expenditures, he stated that government will “do business differently”.  His speech had a whole section on the topic of Transformational Change.

To advocates for the health and long-term care file, the use of that language was music to our ears.  For many years, we have been trying to push government to acknowledge the need for transformation, not just the simple promises of change that have been part of the governmental and bureaucratic language for too long.  As McKenna found in the 1990’s, deep change requires Transformation, changing the way business is done.  Changing the way business is done involves, at a minimum, laying all the cards on the table, not just those cards that are safe and convenient.

Transformation is not for the faint of heart; those who do not have either the willingness or the courage to engage, with the serious risks that are involved, should exit stage left right away.
“Looking under the hood” is a phrase used often by those who create and direct serious transformation.  In health care, the early 1990’s was the last time we saw serious transformation in New Brunswick.    Actually, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan were the leaders and every other province has followed our example.  But not until these two provinces paved the way and absorbed some hits in order to get the tough issues of transformation kick-started!

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