NB spent the least per capita on public healthcare 

MONCTON – According to the latest data from the Canadian Health Information Institute, New Brunswick spent less than all other provinces on public sector health spending per capita in 2020. However, it spent the third-highest amount on private-sector health spending in the country.

Most of the private-sector spending was on medication, according to the data the New Brunswick Health Council (NBHC) published on its website.

NBHC CEO Stéphane Robichaud (pictured) said the organization plans on updating the web page annually to keep track of the spending.

“There isn’t an ideal amount (of money to spend) globally,” he told Global News. “What we need to change in Canada is how we base our spending on the needs of the population, of the results of our health service quality.”

Healthcare spending made up 16 percent of the province’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the total value of goods and services sold in the province for that year, often a metric to determine the province’s total spending capabilities.

In that respect, New Brunswick placed third in the country, with only Nova Scotia and P.E.I spending a higher proportion of their GDP on healthcare.