The reallocation challenge: Containing Canadian medical care spending to invest in the social determinants of health.

We argue that Canadian provincial governments should contain medical care spending in order to invest more in the social determinants of health (SDH). Others have said this, many times. Doing it has not proven easy. We therefore emphasize the potential contribution of the priority-setting and resource allocation literature. This literature identifies formal tools and approaches that have built cultures of support for resource shifts, while providing pragmatic means for advancing efficiency and equity. Although reallocation towards SDH from other areas of the health care system is financially viable and supported by existing research, it will require new emphasis on the design of population health interventions that make reallocation politically expedient.