OTTAWA, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Healthcare spending in Canada has risen 1.4 percent in 2010 to $5,700 per person, the Canadian Institute for Health Information said Thursday.
Although spending is projected to reach a total of $191.6 billion, the 1.4 percent rate of growth is the slowest advance in healthcare spending in Canada in 13 years, Postmedia News reported.
"Over the last 10 years, obviously, there have been a significant investment in healthcare, it was a priority of Canadians," said Chris Kuchciak, the institute's manager of healthcare costs. "However, in the last couple of years we're seeing a deceleration in that rate of growth."
Kuchciak said provincial governments hurt by the economic slowdown had trimmed healthcare spending, the news agency said.
The federal and provincial governments are predicted to spend $135.1 billion on healthcare this year, while consumer spending on healthcare is expected to reach $56.6 billion, the report said.
