Will Paying the Piper Change the Tune?

Most provincial governments are considering or introducing changes to hospital funding. Ten years of rapidly increasing expenditures have left them still facing complaints of waiting lists and waiting times. Activity-based funding (ABF) would supplement traditional negotiated global budgets, reimbursing a predetermined amount for each case treated - essentially, a "fee schedule" - thus providing incentives and resources to increase throughput of certain "hot button" procedures and services and to improve efficiency.