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OTTAWA — Canadian health-care spending is expected to reach $183 1 billion in 2009 or $5,452 per Canadian, according to figures released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The estimate represents a $95 billion increase from 2008, when health- care spending was estimated to be $172 billion.

As a proportion of the gross domestic product, health expenditures represent 11 9 per cent, an all-time high, says the CIHI report. In 2008, it was 1OM percent. The jump in health spending as a proportion of the GYM’ can be attributed to a slowdown in the economy, said the organization’s interim president and CEO Anne McFarlane.

“The reason for that increase is not particularly because of the growth in health care expenditure but because of the dedine in the size of the economy because of the recession,” she said. “If everything had remained constant, if the recession hadn’t happened, we would have projected that the GDP ratio for 2009 would be basically what it was for 2008.”

Taking into account inflation and population growth, health-care spending is estimated to increase by 2.5 per cent, the report .says, down from 4.2 per cent in 2008.

“Every year, health-care expenditure basically does outpace inflation and population growth the question is by how much,” McFarlane said
Hospitals are expected to account for the largest proportion of health- care spending in Canada this year, at 278 per cent, or $51 billion, although hospitals m previous years have accounted for a higher share of the spending In 1975, hospitals accounted for 44.7 per of total spending.

Next in line are drugs, which are estimated to account for 164 per cent, or $30 billion of the $123 1 billion total. The report takes into account both prescribed and non-prescribed medications. Fourteen per cent of total spending went to physician payments in this year’s estimate, which account for the third-largest proportion of the expenditure.

Governments are expected to account for 70.2 per cent of total health- care spending and the private sector for 29.8 per cent. Included expenses in the private- sector spending are dental care, prescribed drugs and private insurance, McFarlane said.

written by: Allison Cross