Health News Jean-Yves Duclos Canada county Ontario city Ottawa county Atlantic Canada News Health News Jean-Yves Duclos Canada county Ontario city Ottawa county Atlantic

Ottawa warns provinces not to charge fees for medically necessary services

Reading now: 285
globalnews.ca

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

Read more on globalnews.ca
The website covid-19.rehab is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.

Related News

Moderate alcohol consumption has no health benefits, analysis finds - fox29.com - city Victoria
fox29.com
80%
300
Moderate alcohol consumption has no health benefits, analysis finds
may help prevent heart disease or even a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.The new analysis, published on March 31 in JAMA Network Open, reviewed more than 100 studies published as far back as 1980, involving nearly 5 million people in total. It found that there was a "significantly increased risk" of death among female drinkers who drank 25 or more grams of alcohol per day, which is about two 5-ounce glasses of wine, two 12-ounce beers, or two cocktails containing 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. The same significantly increased risk was found for males who drank 45 or more grams of alcohol per day, or slightly over three standard drinks.FILE - A woman pours wine into a glass at home. (Photo by Finn Winkler/picture alliance via Getty Images) The analysis was conducted by researchers at the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the University of Portsmouth’s Department of Psychology. They concluded how many of these previous studies were flawed with "systematic biases" that may have skewed the results.The study authors noted how scientists in previous studies failed to control for certain factors that are typical for light and moderate drinkers – such as being "systematically healthier" and tending to have better exercise habits and dental hygiene, lower weight, and wealthier.
Alberta Health - Alberta Health Services - Jason Copping - Jean-Yves Duclos - Alberta will have $13.8M deducted from health transfers because patients paid for services: feds - globalnews.ca - Canada - city Ottawa
globalnews.ca
92%
735
Alberta will have $13.8M deducted from health transfers because patients paid for services: feds
Canada Health Transfers from provinces, including Alberta, over “patient charges levied during 2020-2021, for medically necessary services that should be accessible to patients at no cost.”A summary posted online by the government of Canada shows Alberta’s deductions will be $13.8 million.Federal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos sent letters to all provinces and territories, expressing concerns about a recent increase in reports of patient charges for medically necessary services, including telemedicine and some private services.“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,” Duclos said in a statement.“This is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”“It is critical that access to medically necessary services, whether provided in-person or virtually, remains based on medical need and free of charge.” Read more: Ottawa warns provinces not to charge fees for medically necessary services When asked about this Friday, Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping said he hadn’t seen the letter, hasn’t been fully briefed and didn’t know the amount Alberta would lose.However, he said there has been an “ongoing dispute” about how the transfer system works — what’s allowed and not allowed.“I understand there’s been ongoing conversations about the interpretation of ‘medically necessary’ and payment for medically necessary and how that works in the regulations,” Copping said Friday.He said other provinces are having the same types of discussions with the federal government.“I’m looking forward to actually reviewing the letter … and then discussing it directly with Minister Duclos.”Copping acknowledged there
DMCA