Buy back superhospitals from private partners: economists

Buy back superhospitals from private partners: economists

Aaron Derfel, Montreal Gazette

The Quebec government should follow the lead of France and buy back Montreal’s two superhospitals from their private partners, two economists recommend in a new study, estimating that such a move could save taxpayers as much as $4 billion.  Even with the penalty, the French government estimated that it will ultimately save up to $982.4 million over the long term.
In a study by Guillaume Hébert and Minh Nguyen of the Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques (IRIS), and funded by the FSSS-CSN, the union that represents health-care workers, the two researchers argue the exact opposite. They estimate that the Quebec government will ultimately pay up to $8.6 billion in annual rent to the private consortia in charge of the superhospitals.

“These have been major investments in the health field, and ultimately we will lose a tremendous amount of money using this formula. Are there public-private partnerships that work? That might be possible, but they would be the exceptions to the rule.” Guillaume Hébert

In a 2010 report, Quebec’s auditor general concluded that building the two superhospitals as PPPs would cost taxpayers millions more than constructing them under the conventional model, with the government financing both projects.
 
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