The federal health minister is warning provinces not to charge Canadians fees for “medically necessary” care, including telemedicine and some private services, in a new letter released Friday. “There has been evidence of residents paying out of pocket to access diagnostic services such as ultrasounds, MRI and CT scans — services that should be accessible at no cost,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos in a statement. “This is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.” Read more: Ottawa signs health-care funding deals with Ontario, Atlantic provinces He also noted in the letter that he is “very concerned” about increasing reports of patients being charged for “medically necessary” services and that whether these are delivered virtually or in person, they must be available free of charge.
Duclos says he plans to clarify the expectation in an interpretation letter attached to the Canada Health Act, which lays out the standards of care Canadians must be able to receive under the public health care system, no matter where they live.
He will also be deducting a total of $82 million in Canada Health Transfers from the provinces over “patient charges levied during 2020-2021, for medically necessary services that should be accessible to patients at no cost.” This includes over $76 million in deductions under the Diagnostic Services Policy, which says that patients should not be charged for medically necessary diagnostic services, such as MRI and CT scans.
Another $6 million will also be deducted for other insured services at private surgical clinics and for access to abortion. Read more: Here’s how much provinces have in surplus while demanding more federal health cash Duclos said the federal government was clamping