Alberta's sky-high health care costs make deficits hard to shake: report

Alberta spends more money on health care per capitathan any other province and demand is only going to increase, making it difficult for the province to meet itsmodest deficit-reduction targets, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

"Last fiscal year, 46 per cent of every revenuedollar earned by the province was poured into health care spending," reads the organization's latestAlberta Fiscal Snapshot, released Tuesday.

• Alberta's deficit history: A look at past and future numbers
• ANALYSIS |Alberta resource revenue plunges to historic low

Alberta spends "much more" on health care than the rest of the provinces, according to the report,with age-adjusted spending working out to $5,210 per person in 2013.

That's 33 per cent more than the national average.

The current government has taken steps to curb the growth in health care costs, with spending set to grow at an average annual pace of 2.4 per cent over the next three years.

That marks a "significant slowdown" from the previous decade, according to the report, when health spending grew at an average of 7.5 per cent per year.

But, the report cautions that the government's spending projections may not be in line with the reality of a growing and aging population.

"Changing demographics, coupled with estimates for health care inflation and increased utilization, suggest spending on health care will need to increase by an annual average of 4.8 per cent over the forecast period double the average growth contained in the latest (provincial) budget," it reads.

• Alberta budget goes heavily into the red to fight economic downturn

The Alberta governmentforecastsa$10.4-billion deficit in the current fiscal yearunder a worst-case scenario of the West Texas Intermediate oil price staying at an average of $36.

If oil prices increase on average to $42, the 2016/17 deficit is projected at $9.7 billion, but even then the government expects to continue spending more money than it takes in for years to come.

Finance Minister Joe Ceci said his aim isto balance the budget by 2024.