Enforce Canada Health Act

AI summary

Petitioners ask enforcement of the Canada Health Act to stop private clinics extra-billing insured services, citing cataract fees of $4,000–$11,000 and charges for MRIs and primary care. The government responds it will uphold the Act.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Minister of Health Ontario’s Doug Ford government has redirected thousands of surgeries from public hospitals to private, for-profit clinics and hospitals, and The private MRI/CT and cataract surgery clinics are extra-billing patients, charging user fees, and manipulating patients -- particularly elderly patients -- into paying thousands of dollars when they go in for care, and Patients are reporting exorbitant charges of $4,000, $8,000, even up to $11,000 for cataract surgery in Ontario’s private clinics, as well as hundreds of dollars for access to primary care in private for-profit nurse practitioner clinics, and The Canada Health Act bans user fees and extra-billing of patients & requires that our medical care be funded by taxes (OHIP) and provided without financial barriers, based on Canadians’ medical need not how much money a person has, and No patient should be forced or manipulated into paying for their cataract and other surgeries, MRIs and CTs, and primary care – in fact these charges are just what the Canada Health Act was set up to prevent, therefore We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to uphold and enforce the Canada Health Act.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Health Signed by Maggie Chi Our government will always protect and uphold the Canada Health Act. Our universal public healthcare system is a point of pride for all Canadians and underpins our economic strength. The Canada Health Act establishes the criteria and conditions related to medically necessary hospital and physician services (i.e., insured health services) that the provinces and territories must fulfill to receive the full federal cash contribution under the Canada Health Transfer. The Act requires that all medically necessary hospital and physician services be covered by the provincial and territorial health care insurance plans, whether the services are provided in a hospital or in a facility (e.g., a private surgical clinic) providing what are generally regarded as hospital services. Provinces and territories that allow patient charges for insured health services are subject to mandatory dollar-for-dollar deductions from their federal Canada Health Transfer payments. Health Canada works closely with all provinces and territories to ensure they have the tools they need to deliver health care within their jurisdiction. Our government takes a collaborative approach that respects the jurisdiction of provinces and territories to explore innovative ways to improve access and care, but we will always ensure that access to medically necessary care remains based on need, rather than ability or willingness to pay.