Manitoba has signed a health agreement with the federal government, ending its holdout, but the province still plans on fighting Ottawa over the Canada Health Transfer.

An agreement signed yesterday sees Manitoba get $400-million over the next 10 years for specific programs, such as home care, mental health services, and addictions treatment. That amounts to $10.9 million for fiscal 2017/18 -- $7.27-million for home and community care, and $3.63-million for mental health and addictions initiatives. A release from the Manitoba government says another $5-million in federal funding will go to fighting opioid addiction and the high rate of chronic kidney disease in this province. The release from the province also says both governments have agreed to work together with Indigenous organizations and governments to pursue better health care service delivery for remote communities, with emphasis on transportation and procurement challenges.

Despite all that, health minister Kelvin Goertzen told reporters yesterday Manitoba will continue to fight for a better Canada Health Transfer overall.

"When it comes to the home care and mental health money, we all agree that those are significant and important issues, so it'll be helpful, but it is still a modest part of the overall budget."

Earlier this year, the federal government announced the annual increase to the Canada Health Transfer would drop from six per cent to three per cent.

Goertzen says he's spoken to his counterparts in other provinces, and they all agree three per cent increases won't be enough to sustain the rising cost of health care. He says if Manitoba doesn't keep up the fight, we will get to a point when provinces pay almost the entire cost of health care.