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B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon says selling health care to moneyed foreigners be possible to pass over money for the province. (B.C. Legislature)

B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon says he has a plan to place of traffic health-care services to rich, offshore patients uniform to the way the dependency sells higher education to foreign students.

The concept of using health tourism considered in the state of a resources to generate return in favor of B.C.’sitting health-care system deserves more study, Falcon said Tuesday.

‘Why can’t British Columbia be the Mayo Clinic of the North?’— B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon

He declared he’sitting been in discussions through therapeutical professionals about beginning centres of health excellence in British Columbia that offer medical treatment to foreign patients willing to pay extra.

Foreign students pay into the post-secondary education a whole and their dollars fund educational priorities for the capacity, Falcon said.

“It’s in the early stages, yet the principle is important,” said Falcon. “It’sitting exactly what we do in post-secondary [tuition]: We bring in foreign students, we charge them about four times what British Columbia students retort upon.”

He said the extra education currency is used to hire more teachers and create more spaces and opportunities despite B.C. students.

“The principle, granting that it works in post secondary, we ought to look at it in hale condition, and that’s what we are doing,” Falcon said.

Last week’session B.C. budget saw the Liberals increase health-care spending by the agency of $2 billion too the next three years to $16.1 billion in 2012-13. Health costs now inventory during more than 42 per cent of the complete B.C. budget.

“Nobody even looks at the revenue possible in our hypothesis,” Falcon before-mentioned. “Why can’t British Columbia exist the Mayo Clinic of the North?”

Concerns hither and thither queue-jumping

Opposition health critic Adrian Dix said the government appears prepared to allow rich foreign patients to receive preferential treatment in facilities paid because of by B.C. residents.

“This is, as prevalent, not thought through and not very thoughtful on the part of the subordinate,” Dix said. “What he’session talking about is organized queue-jumping, organized two-tier hale condition care.”

The New Democrat said hospitals are cutting surgeries and closing operating rooms, but the minister is offering first-class treatment to foreigners in facilities paid for by British Columbians.

“The assistant is ideologically unwilling to supporting public health care on a level yet that is his personal obligation,” Dix said, adding Falcon’sitting proffer is unfair to British Columbians who pay for and preserve health superintendence with their taxes.

Falcon before-mentioned he would not consider therapeutical tourism suppose that it meant British Columbians would be left at the end of the cover with lines.

“I muse it’s funny we can’familiarily have the discussion without populate probably the NDP lighting their hair on splendor and mind the world’sitting going to come to an end,” he aforesaid.

© The Canadian Press, 2010