There are currently two important cases moving through the British Columbian court system that will decide on the legality of private clinics charging patients for receiving medically necessary services, and promising faster access in the private than in the public system. These cases have the potential to have far-reaching consequences across Canada if the ruling favours the private clinics. At the same time, the cases offer the opportunity for the courts to reaffirm the legitimacy, importance and constitutionality of our public health care system.

Below is a brief summary of the cases and the status of our discussions with other groups about getting involved in these cases.

BC Nurses Union Case

The BCNU has launched proceeding in the names of specific patients, suing the BC government to try to compel them to enforce the Canada Health Act (CHA) and BC Medicare Protection Act (MPA) at private clinics that they alleged engage in extra billing. The nurses' claim focuses primarily on extra-billing, suggesting that the patients were charged for services they should not have been charged for, given the provisions of the MPA and CHA.

Private Clinics' Case

The private clinics and the Canadian Independent Medical Clinics Association (CIMCA) brought a suit against the BC government, to show that restrictions on private clinics charging patients for receiving medically necessary care deprive patients of rights guaranteed by section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is in essence the same argument underlying the Chaoulli case in Quebec.

Strong Initial Response from BC Government

The BC government's response to the CIMCA suit was quite dramatic. The filed a counterclaim stating the government has "reason to believe" that patients have paid doctors directly for insured services covered by the public medical plan, in violation of provincial statutes that forbid such extra billing. It appeared that they planned to use their full powers both to refute the CIMCA suit and to bring the private clinics to justice for what appeared to be a series of unlawful behaviours. This all came on the eve of a recent provincial election, in which the current BC government was re-elected.

Pairing of the Cases

While the nurse's case and the CIMCA case were filed separately, they both deal with sufficiently similar issues that the BC court assigned them to the same judge to oversee. It has not yet been determined whether the cases will be heard together when they go to trial.

The Necessity of Another Voice

The BC Health Coalition and Canadian Doctors for Medicare retained legal counsel to seek standing in the case. We believed that it is very important to demonstrate that most physicians do not support two-tied healthcare and that most patients would be harmed if the court were to rule in favour of the private clinics. CDM could also provide the pro-Medicare side with advice on experts, patients and research, including assisting in reviewing affidavits and providing information from the physician perspective. The decision on that request for standing will be rendered on November 17th.

Click here to read a brief summary of the cases and the status of our discussions with other groups about getting involved in these cases.