Province plans to gradually eliminate Medical Services Plan premiums outright
British Columbia Finance Minister Mike de Jong has announced the biggest change to health premiums ever made by the province.
The Liberal government’s 2017 budget will see Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums for around two million British Columbians slashed by half, starting on Jan. 1 next year, according to CBC News. Among that number, one million people that have premiums paid by their employer will also be eligible for the break.
To qualify for the planned relief, which is applicable to those with an annual family net income between $29,000 and $120,000, MSP payers will have to fill out an online form. “For a family paying full premiums, this represents a saving of $900 per year,” de Jong said in his budget speech.
“Our objective over time is to completely eliminate MSP as an expense for British Columbians,” he continued. “The timings and structure of that next step will depend on the province's fiscal capacity in the future.”
The premium reduction, once implemented, will cost the government an additional $890 million in 2018-19, compared to 2016-17. A total elimination of premiums would cost the government some $2 billion a year.
A 50% reduction in premiums would seem generous to most, but Iglika Ivanova from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives still sees the MSP premium as unfair.
“If you are a family making $52,000, you are paying more of a share of your income than if you are a family of two doctors making $300,000,” she said. “I would like to see it completely eliminated and replaced by a fairer tax.”
Government projections indicate an overall surplus of $295 million for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Over the past few years, British Columbia and Quebec are the only two provinces in Canada to have posted surpluses.
“We are proud of the fact that BC has led Canada. Our balance sheet is the envy of the nation and our economic performance is the envy of the nation,” de Jong said. “We have sought to ensure that British Columbians realize the benefits of that because they are the ones that made it happen.”
Related stories:
Campaign aims to fight Ottawa’s proposed tax on health benefits
Report reveals $4.2 billion in payments made to BC doctors
The Liberal government’s 2017 budget will see Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums for around two million British Columbians slashed by half, starting on Jan. 1 next year, according to CBC News. Among that number, one million people that have premiums paid by their employer will also be eligible for the break.
To qualify for the planned relief, which is applicable to those with an annual family net income between $29,000 and $120,000, MSP payers will have to fill out an online form. “For a family paying full premiums, this represents a saving of $900 per year,” de Jong said in his budget speech.
“Our objective over time is to completely eliminate MSP as an expense for British Columbians,” he continued. “The timings and structure of that next step will depend on the province's fiscal capacity in the future.”
The premium reduction, once implemented, will cost the government an additional $890 million in 2018-19, compared to 2016-17. A total elimination of premiums would cost the government some $2 billion a year.
A 50% reduction in premiums would seem generous to most, but Iglika Ivanova from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives still sees the MSP premium as unfair.
“If you are a family making $52,000, you are paying more of a share of your income than if you are a family of two doctors making $300,000,” she said. “I would like to see it completely eliminated and replaced by a fairer tax.”
Government projections indicate an overall surplus of $295 million for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Over the past few years, British Columbia and Quebec are the only two provinces in Canada to have posted surpluses.
“We are proud of the fact that BC has led Canada. Our balance sheet is the envy of the nation and our economic performance is the envy of the nation,” de Jong said. “We have sought to ensure that British Columbians realize the benefits of that because they are the ones that made it happen.”
Related stories:
Campaign aims to fight Ottawa’s proposed tax on health benefits
Report reveals $4.2 billion in payments made to BC doctors
