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A BC MLA is hoping that the current government will consider changing the way the Medical Services Plan (MSP) is billed in this province and become fair and equal for all.
Andrew Weaver, the MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head and Green Party member, says that the government needs to change the way MSP is billed based on a person’s income. MSP is required in BC for anyone living in the province for six months or longer as they must pay monthly premiums for health care coverage.
“While some individuals can apply for premium assistance, these subsidies dry out as soon as a person earns a net annual income of $30,000 or more,” said Weaver. “Those who earn more than $30,000 must currently pay a monthly flat fee of $72. This means that an individual who earns $30,000 per year pays the same MSP premium as an individual who earns $3,000,000 per year. And so, it is evident that MSP premiums are perhaps the most regressive form of taxation in BC.”
In 2000, the MSP premium for a single individual was $36 per month; today that same person pays twice as much. According to Weaver, the provincial government is now bringing in almost as much revenue from MSP premiums as it does from corporate income taxes. In the 2014/15 British Columbia budget, revenue from MSP premiums was expected to be $2.271 billion whereas corporate tax revenue was estimated to be $2.348 billion.
“While one can make the argument that reducing MSP premiums allows for lower rates of other taxes, these benefits are often only felt by the wealthiest of the population,” adds Weaver. “In fact, ‘when all personal taxes are considered (income, sales, property, carbon, and MSP premiums), the higher your income, the lower your total provincial tax rate’. So, while most BC households paid around the same total tax rate back in 2000, with those in the top income bracket paying slightly more, under the current system the wealthiest 20 per cent of households now pay a lower total tax rate than the rest of the population.”
Weaver is now calling on the government to replace MSP premiums with a more progressive and equitable approach to financing the health care system. Perhaps by following the steps of Ontario and Quebec, which have an income tax based approach to health care.
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