Money, Politics, and Health Care: Reconstructing the Federal-Provincial Partnership (Institute for Research on Public Policy)

This collection of essays analyses key issues in federal-provincial health care relations, particularly the fiscal component. The authors look at why there is a role for the federal government in health care and consider the critical issues in recent intergovernmental political battles over this role. The issues of whether the vertical federal-provincial fiscal imbalance is myth or reality, how much the federal government does and should contribute financially to provincial health care programs, and methods for settling disputes, such as those over user fees, are discussed. The authors also provide concrete proposals for reconstructing the federal-provincial partnership.