Regional Health Authorities are funded based on a 2008 model that doesn’t reflect current hospital occupancy rates<\/p>\n
Published Mar 24, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 3\u00a0days ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Whether New Brunswick\u2019s two Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) will see their funding updated to reflect the current strain on the system won\u2019t be known until an external \u201cbase budget review\u201d that examines how money is being currently spent is completed, says Health Minister John Dornan.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the e-Edition, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalism and the next generation of journalists.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to keep reading.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite journalists.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n In a report late last year, auditor general Paul Martin revealed that the RHAs, Horizon and Vitalit\u00e9 health networks, are receiving their annual funding based on a 2008 model that assumes hospitals are operating at 85 per cent capacity.<\/p>\n That hasn\u2019t been the case for years.<\/p>\n For example, as of Monday afternoon, four of Horizon\u2019s five regional hospitals were operating either just below or just above 100 per cent capacity. Waterville\u2019s hospital, however, was at 144 per cent of capacity, meaning patients are being treated in places like hallways, closets, and repurposed conference rooms.<\/p>\n Both RHAs consistently blow past their annual operating budgets, and Martin\u2019s report suggested that\u2019s likely in part because they aren\u2019t getting enough cash each year from government in the first place.<\/p>\n In last week\u2019s budget, the Liberals trumpeted \u201crecord\u201d and \u201cgenerational\u201d spending on health of about $4.7 billion \u2013 words that have been repeated every year for at least the last eight years by PC and Liberal governments \u2013 but didn\u2019t say whether the RHAs\u2019 funding formula has been updated.<\/p>\n Morning Email Telegraph-Journal<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n When asked, Dornan said that won\u2019t be revealed until the budget review is completed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking at what our RHAs need currently,\u201d Dornan said, adding that the health department did ask for the funding model to be updated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing a base budget review to see what our expenses are, what our spends are, and if that\u2019s appropriate in the Canadian context. So we\u2019re doing that now. I can\u2019t give a number as to how much more or less we will need, but the base budget review is occurring.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u00a0spending at Extra-Mural\/Ambulance New Brunswick.<\/p>\n \u201cThe review will evaluate those expenditures to determine whether they remain relevant and cost effective, and to identify areas where transformational change can be made,\u201d the province said in a press release at the time.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n When asked if that means that the additional money wasn\u2019t included in the 2026\/2027 budget, Dornan said he doesn\u2019t want to \u201cpresuppose\u201d the outcome of that review.<\/p>\n When told of Dornan\u2019s comments, Progressive Conservative health critic Bill Hogan replied: \u201cWhat kind of an answer is that?\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019 spending.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019s gotten better. So clearly, spending money is not necessarily the solution. It\u2019s where we\u2019re choosing to spend it, and if we don\u2019t know where we\u2019re currently spending it, then how are we going to make a good choice,\u201d Hogan asked.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Dornan, meanwhile, rejected a reporter\u2019s question about whether the RHAs were looking for a \u201cblank cheque.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s never been that way, and I\u2019ve worked both sides of that equation,\u201d Dornan replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to rationalize what we asked for. And sometimes we\u2019ll say to an RHA, \u2018You need to find it within your current budget.\u2019 Sometimes we\u2019ll say, \u2018No, we are not sponsoring this new project.\u2019 Sometimes people say, \u2018Yes, we are sponsoring this new project.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Brunswick News also asked the RHAs about their funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are awaiting the completion of the base budget review ordered by government,\u201d Natalie Urquhart, Horizon\u2019s vice president of corporate services and chief financial officer, wrote in an email.<\/p>\n Vitalit\u00e9\u2019s statement, which wasn\u2019t attributed to anyone, provided more information.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cVitalit\u00e9 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,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this issue has been raised and discussed informally on multiple occasions with government partners, Vitalit\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThat said, Vitalit\u00e9 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links New BrunswickNewsPoliticsThe IssuesHealth care Regional Health Authorities are funded based on a 2008 model that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-566297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"dornan\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0324-lb-rhas.jpg\")
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