Upholding the Canada Health Act (CHA) remains a critical way to protect Canada's health care system and ensure Canadians have equitable access to medically necessary care based on their needs, not their ability to pay.
Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced mandatory Canada Health Transfer (CHT) deductions totalling over $79 million in response to patient charges during 2021-2022 for medically necessary services that, under the CHA, should be accessible to patients without out-of-pocket costs.
The goal of the Canada Health Act and mandatory Canada Health Transfer (CHT) deductions has always been to ensure patients do not pay out of pocket for medically necessary services. The federal government introduced the CHA Reimbursement Policy in 2018, so that when provinces and territories take action to eliminate patient charges and the underlying circumstances that led to them, they are reimbursed these mandatory deductions.
As a result of provinces and territories (PTs) working with the federal government to put a stop to patient charges for medically necessary services, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador have received reimbursements of deductions under the Reimbursement Policy, totalling over $90 million. The reimbursements recognize the work being done to protect patients from inappropriate charges and improve universal access to health care services. As provinces and territories take additional action to eliminate patient charges, they will be eligible for additional reimbursements.
Canadians and their families deserve timely access to the health care services they need, and they expect their governments to work together to find immediate and longer-term solutions to these challenges. The federal government will continue working closely with provinces and territories so all Canadians have equitable access to medically necessary care based on need, not their ability to pay.
