Healthcare

Healthcare

Healthcare and the funding associated with its provision has been a key aspect of the overall budget setting process during the years since the inception of Manx Care.

The Pink Book says this is underlined by the fact that the budget for providing health and social care services has increased from £289 million in 2022/23 to £404.1 million being budgeted for this upcoming financial year.

If the Budget is approved, the Department of Health and Social Care will receive an additional £45 million, driven by demand for services delivered by Manx Care and increasing the DHSC annual budget to £412 million.

This rise marks the first departure from the funding formula set out following the Independent Review of the Isle of Man Health and Social Care System, leading Treasury Minister Chris Thomas to warn: "Healthcare is important but the sustained and substantial increase in costs in recent years remains a significant risk to the achievement of our medium-term financial plan."

Contingency Funding

There's a revenue contingency budget within Treasury and to access this, departments or boards that encounter unanticipated costs have to submit robust business cases for approval.

The level of this contingency for 2026/27 has been set at £16.3 million.

An amount of £10 million has been allocated within the contingency fund specifically for potential Manx Care cost pressures.

To access this, the Department of Health and Social Care would need to submit specific business cases which would be subject to Treasury and Council of Ministers approval.

NHS Levy

In 2024 the then treasury minister, Alex Allinson, increased the higher rate of income tax from 20% to 22% while a new NHS levy was developed.

Last year, that rise was halved, taking the higher rate to 21%, although in September 2025 government announced it would no longer be progressing with the plans.

The extra income was still to be ringfenced for the health service though.

This year, Minister Thomas says the higher rate will be unchanged, staying at 21%.

However, it's unclear whether or not that extra 1% is still being ringfenced for healthcare.

Manx Care

Manx Care's total budget for this financial year will be £404.2 million, up from £361.8 million last year.

Chris Thomas says this funding increase means that, for the first time since its inception, Manx Care will be funded in line with the recommendations from the 2019 Sir Jonathan Michael report.

You can hear what the treasury minister had to say in Tynwald below: