BC Expands Recovery of Public Health Costs

Summary#

• This bill changes British Columbia’s Health Care Costs Recovery law. The goal is to help the province recover public health care costs when someone is injured or killed and another party is at fault.

• It expands who must cooperate, sets clear notice rules, and clarifies that amounts for health costs in judgments and settlements are debts owed to the government.

• Broadens who counts as an “insurer” (including captive insurers and reciprocal exchanges), so more organizations must share information and may have to pay health cost recoveries.

• Creates a new duty to notify the government when a defendant brings in a third party to share blame. The notice must be in a set form and include the third party filing.

• Lets the government step into a defendant’s place to collect public health care costs from a third party when a court says that third party must contribute.

• Requires insurers and uninsured defendants to provide records and cooperate with the minister and people helping the government, by deadlines the minister sets. Requests can be made more than once.

• States that court- or settlement-designated amounts for public health costs are debts owed to the government, with interest in settlements.

• Clarifies recovery can still happen even if the wrongdoer was only partly at fault or the injured person signed a waiver.

• Applies to new legal cases started after the law takes effect. The start date will be set by the provincial cabinet.

What it means for you#

• Workers, drivers, and other residents

  • Your medical care does not change. If you are injured and the public plan pays, the province may seek repayment of those costs from the at-fault party or their insurer.
  • If you make a legal claim, your settlement or court award will likely include a separate amount for public health care costs. That amount goes to the government.
  • You or your lawyer may be asked to share information and cooperate with the province’s recovery efforts.

• People without insurance who are sued (uninsured defendants)

  • If you are served with certain notices, you must notify the minister within 60 days using the required form.
  • You must provide records and reasonable cooperation when asked. The government must repay reasonable, necessary expenses you incur to comply.

• Insurers and risk pools (including captive insurers and reciprocal exchanges)

  • You have clearer duties to notify, share information, and cooperate with the minister and the ministry’s agents.
  • If a settlement or court order sets an amount for public health costs, you may have to pay that amount to the government, with interest in settlements.

• Defendants and third parties in lawsuits

  • If you bring a third party into a case and the court says that third party must contribute, the government can collect its health care costs directly from that third party.
  • You or your lawyer must notify the government about third party claims in the required form and on time.

• Taxpayers

  • The intent is to shift public health costs from taxpayers to those who caused the harm (and their insurers), which could return money to the health system.

Expenses#

• No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Helps protect the health budget by recovering public care costs from those responsible, not from taxpayers.
• Closes gaps by covering more types of insurers (like captive companies and reciprocal exchanges) and by adding rules for uninsured defendants.
• Clear notice and cooperation rules should speed up recoveries and reduce disputes.
• Ensures health care cost amounts in settlements and judgments are enforceable debts, improving collections.
• Lets the government collect from third parties when courts say they share blame, so costs are spread fairly among those at fault.

Opponents' View#

• Could make lawsuits more complex and slower, because of added notices, forms, and government involvement.
• Imposes new administrative burdens on insurers and people without insurance, which may increase legal and compliance costs.
• Repeated information requests and broader cooperation powers may raise privacy or data-sharing concerns.
• By expanding who can be on the hook (including captive insurers), it could increase liability exposure and, some argue, put upward pressure on insurance costs.