Social Programs as Illness Prevention

Today, the Globe and Mail reported on a recent study that revealed health care spending in Canada this year was estimated to reach its highest level ever. With rising costs and tough economic times still ahead, the article questions how much Canadians “really want to spend on healthcare.”

As they examine only the costs to the economy, studies such as these are often used by some to justify cuts to health care spending. However, it is important to examine the broader picture that takes into account the long-term benefits of health care investment to both our economy and our society.

Canada still ranks below the United States and a number of other industrialized countries when it comes to health care spending, and our investment in a public system founded on values of equality and universal access provides a basis from which a healthy and productive population can flourish. While our current level of health care spending may still appear high, it is tiny in comparison to the cost to both our economy and our society as a whole if free, universal health care in Canada did not exist.

In his paper “Building a Healthy Economy: More Than Just Banks and Stocks” Scott Wolfe provides substantial evidence that Canada’s health care system is an asset to our economy and argues that “the best way to build a strong economy is to build strong and healthy communities”.

Direct spending on health care is not the only way to promote health. Health is not only determined by how someone is cared for when they are sick, but by many social, economic and environmental conditions that shape our daily lives. Poverty and income inequality – and related social problems, such as poor diet and inadequate housing – have long been linked to higher rates of illness and mortality.

Investing in social programs can lower health care costs by preventing the kinds of illnesses that are often the result of poverty. Providing access to affordable housing, reducing poverty, ensuring that people are paid a living wage, providing universal child care and similar social programs enable people to contribute more in their families, workplaces, and communities.

Better health, and by extension better quality of life, lead people to be more productive and engaged in not only the economy, but many areas of society. Public justice calls us to envision a society in which the well-being of all people is able to flourish. Ensuring health for all is a basic component of creating a just society.

The OECD recently confirmed that much of the developed world is already in a recession. Social programs are now more important than ever for the 1 in 10 Canadians currently living in poverty.

But it is also important to take into account that economic stability and growth is not the singular end goal of investment in social programs. We invest in the economy because it is a way to measure our standard of living – one of many ways of measuring human well being.

It is important to take into account the many factors that contribute to promoting quality of life, and these must be valued for their own sake and not simply in relation to how they impact the economy. Economic growth is beneficial for society if its benefits are used for the common good and not simply for a wealthy few.

At a time when financial institutions are coming under scrutiny, social program spending is one type of investment that will guarantee a good return – a better quality of life for Canadians.