Treasury Minister Chris Thomas has warned that healthcare overspending remains a ‘massive risk’ to the Isle of Man Government’s finances.

As part of the 2026/27 Budget, he announced an additional £45 million for the Department of Health and Social Care, taking its total annual allocation to more than £412 million.

Funding for the DHSC has risen from £280.9 million in 2022-23 to £412 million in 2026/27. Projections in the government’s five-year financial plan show spending continuing to increase to £475 million by 2030/31.

The rise means healthcare spending has grown by more than 10% in each of the past four years. At the start of the current administration, the health budget was below £300 million.

The extra £45 million in 2026/27 is intended to ‘reduce waiting times, embed early intervention initiatives and improve care for older adults’.

Mr Thomas said: ‘The real beneficiaries in spending terms are people who need health care, which is pretty much all of us.

‘It’s getting harder to argue that health care is underfunded, but we need to manage the risk that the Isle of Man Government primarily becomes a health care provider.’

Under changes in this year’s Budget, the contingency fund will now be controlled by Treasury and will draw directly on reserves to manage the risk of overspending.

‘If they do overspend, additional funding will come directly from reserves through an application to Treasury, rather than being a contingency fund controlled inside healthcare itself,’ he said.

‘One of the big risks we are trying to manage in this budget process is that Manx Care spending continues to outstrip the allocated budget, as it has done every year since it was established.

‘The funding amount is now more than £400 million and, in the five-year programme, it is planned to rise to £475 million - that is a significant sum being spent on healthcare.’

Further measures are set to be introduced, including cost improvement programmes, efficiency drives and a review of healthcare governance, with a motion expected to be brought forward alongside the Budget.

Concerns about healthcare overspending have also been raised by Chief Minister Alfred Cannan.

Last month, he said the ‘spend, spend, spend’ culture at Manx Care had to stop.

‘There has clearly been a complete failure to bring about effective oversight of their finances,’ the Chief Minister said. ‘This culture of overspending has got to stop. It can’t continue.

‘If Manx Care continues to overspend in the way it has, there will be significant consequences for the public finances.

‘If we continue to spend money on health at this rate, we will end up using all our available reserves. We will effectively run out.’