Canada Health Act
Posted on:3/24/2006
| The Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, that lists the conditions and criteria to which the provinces and territories must conform in order to receive the full amount of negotiated transfer payments relating to health care. |
The Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, that lists the conditions and criteria to which the provinces and territories must conform in order to receive the full amount of negotiated transfer payments relating to health care. The legislation encourages the provinces to maintain public health insurance plans for their residents and discourages the use of extra-billing and user fees in health care delivery. The purpose, and the effect, of the act is to maintain national standards for public health care delivery.
The preamble of the Act justifies Canadian Health Care policy by stating the objective "that continued access to quality health care without financial or other barriers will be critical to maintaining and improving the health and well-being of Canadians." However, the act is a source of controversy. Whereas the proponents view it as correcting free market failures and certain injustices, the opponents view it as limiting the supply and efficiency of health care delivery.
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