Canada Health Act
The Canada Health Act (CHA) establishes the criteria and conditions that provincial and territorial health insurance plans must satisfy to receive full federal cash contributions under the Canada Health Transfer. The Act codifies the five principles of Canada’s publicly administered, universal health care system: public administration (non-profit administration by a public authority), comprehensiveness (coverage of all medically necessary hospital and physician services), universality (all insured residents entitled to coverage on uniform terms), portability (coverage for residents temporarily absent from their province), and accessibility (reasonable access without financial or other barriers). The Act prohibits extra-billing and user charges for insured health services, with mandatory deductions from federal transfers for violations.
Legal area: Medical and health law governs the public health care system, health insurance, and the regulation of health services.
Year enacted: 1985
Full text: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-6/
Key Provisions
- Section 3: Purpose (protect and promote health, facilitate access)
- Section 7: Public administration (non-profit, accountable to province)
- Section 8: Comprehensiveness (medically necessary services)
- Section 9: Universality (uniform terms for all residents)
- Section 10: Portability (coverage during temporary absence)
- Section 11: Accessibility (reasonable access, no financial barriers)
- Section 18: Prohibition on extra-billing
- Section 20: Prohibition on user charges
Significance
The Canada Health Act is often described as the closest thing Canada has to a national health policy statement. The five principles are widely supported by Canadians and define the character of Medicare. The Act does not cover prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, or home care, leading to calls for universal pharmacare. The federal government has used its spending power under the CHA to enforce compliance, most notably against provinces permitting private surgical clinics that charge facility fees (extra-billing).