Will Horizon, Vitalité get more money?

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Regional Health Authorities are funded based on a 2008 model that doesn’t reflect current hospital occupancy rates

Published Mar 24, 2026 • Last updated 3 days ago • 4 minute read

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dornan Health Minister John Dornan is pictured in this file photo. Photo by BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVEArticle content

Whether New Brunswick’s two Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) will see their funding updated to reflect the current strain on the system won’t be known until an external “base budget review” that examines how money is being currently spent is completed, says Health Minister John Dornan.

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In a report late last year, auditor general Paul Martin revealed that the RHAs, Horizon and Vitalité health networks, are receiving their annual funding based on a 2008 model that assumes hospitals are operating at 85 per cent capacity.

That hasn’t been the case for years.

For example, as of Monday afternoon, four of Horizon’s five regional hospitals were operating either just below or just above 100 per cent capacity. Waterville’s hospital, however, was at 144 per cent of capacity, meaning patients are being treated in places like hallways, closets, and repurposed conference rooms.

Both RHAs consistently blow past their annual operating budgets, and Martin’s report suggested that’s likely in part because they aren’t getting enough cash each year from government in the first place.

In last week’s budget, the Liberals trumpeted “record” and “generational” spending on health of about $4.7 billion – words that have been repeated every year for at least the last eight years by PC and Liberal governments – but didn’t say whether the RHAs’ funding formula has been updated.

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When asked, Dornan said that won’t be revealed until the budget review is completed.

“We’re looking at what our RHAs need currently,” Dornan said, adding that the health department did ask for the funding model to be updated.

“We’re doing a base budget review to see what our expenses are, what our spends are, and if that’s appropriate in the Canadian context. So we’re doing that now. I can’t give a number as to how much more or less we will need, but the base budget review is occurring.”

The review, announced in April last year, is expected to take two years to complete, is being conducted by Ernst and Young, and will also examine spending at Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick.

“The review will evaluate those expenditures to determine whether they remain relevant and cost effective, and to identify areas where transformational change can be made,” the province said in a press release at the time.

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When asked if that means that the additional money wasn’t included in the 2026/2027 budget, Dornan said he doesn’t want to “presuppose” the outcome of that review.

When told of Dornan’s comments, Progressive Conservative health critic Bill Hogan replied: “What kind of an answer is that?”

Hogan noted that the Liberals have been governing for 18 months, plenty of time for that review to already be finished. But he supports the idea of a close examination of the RHAs’ spending.

“I do think we need to have a clear understanding of where all the money is, because successive governments have just spent more money on the problems, and nothing’s gotten better. So clearly, spending money is not necessarily the solution. It’s where we’re choosing to spend it, and if we don’t know where we’re currently spending it, then how are we going to make a good choice,” Hogan asked.

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Dornan, meanwhile, rejected a reporter’s question about whether the RHAs were looking for a “blank cheque.”

“It’s never been that way, and I’ve worked both sides of that equation,” Dornan replied.

“We had to rationalize what we asked for. And sometimes we’ll say to an RHA, ‘You need to find it within your current budget.’ Sometimes we’ll say, ‘No, we are not sponsoring this new project.’ Sometimes people say, ‘Yes, we are sponsoring this new project.’ As you are aware, we gave the RHAs less than what they asked for, but we did support some new programs and put some others on hold.”

Brunswick News also asked the RHAs about their funding.

“We are awaiting the completion of the base budget review ordered by government,” Natalie Urquhart, Horizon’s vice president of corporate services and chief financial officer, wrote in an email.

Vitalité’s statement, which wasn’t attributed to anyone, provided more information.

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“Vitalité Health Network recognizes that the regional health authority funding model would benefit from being updated, particularly given the significant changes in service volumes, patient complexity, and hospital occupancy levels observed over the past several years,” the statement read.

“While this issue has been raised and discussed informally on multiple occasions with government partners, Vitalité did not submit a formal request to revise the funding model as part of the most recent budget process. Our budget discussions this year focused primarily on immediate and well-documented financial pressures related to service demand, workforce challenges, and the safe delivery of care to the population.

“That said, Vitalité remains open to working collaboratively with the province and health system partners to examine how the funding model could evolve over time, using evidence-based approaches to ensure long-term sustainability and fairness across the system.”

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