Ottawa warns provinces not to charge fees for medically necessary services – National | 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.”

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.”

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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.

Duclos said the federal government was clamping down on out-of-pocket expenses for private care “with a focus on virtual care and other medically necessary services that Canadians are being asked to pay for.”

Duclos sent letters to all provinces and territories, expressing concerns about a recent increase in reports of patient charges for medically necessary services.

“The goal of the Canada Health Act (CHA) has never been to levy penalties, but rather to ensure patients are not charged for the insured services they have already paid for through their taxes,” he said in a statement.

“If a province or territory permits patient charges for medically necessary health services, a mandatory deduction must be taken from the jurisdiction’s CHT payments.”

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