Feds claw back $1M due to private patient charges; Sask. Ministry of Health 'deeply disappointed'
CBC
The province says it's "deeply disappointed" in the federal government's decision to claw back health transfer funding related to medical imaging services in Saskatchewan.
On March 21, federal Minister of Health Mark Holland announced mandatory Canada Health Transfer deductions for some provinces for 2021 to 2022. According to Health Canada, the Canada Health Act and mandatory health transfer deductions are in place to make sure that patients do not pay out of pocket for medically necessary services.
The federal government introduced the health act reimbursement policy in 2018. The policy means that when provinces and territories take action to eliminate patient charges and the underlying circumstances that led to them, they are reimbursed the mandatory health transfer deductions.
However, Saskatchewan will not be receiving a reimbursement for 2021-2022. The deduction totals at $1 million.
The federal government deducted a total of $79 million from provinces where patients paid out of pocket during 2021-2022 for medically necessary services. It said that the majority of the deductions — over $72 million — were taken due to patient charges for diagnostic imaging services at private clinics.
In a statement to CBC, the Ministry of Health said Saskatchewan introduced private-pay MRI and CT services in the province in 2016. When private providers conduct a private-pay scan, they are then required to provide a second scan, free of charge, to a person who is waiting on the public list.
Last week Minister of Health Everett Hindley told reporters at the legislature that this system is one of many strategies the province is using to reduce wait-lists in the health-care system.
"We would argue that it has been very successful. It builds in something that was already happening here in this province through workers compensation, as an example, and we're going to continue to do it," said Hindley.
In the statement, the Ministry of Health called the private-pay system for MRI and CT services a "unique two-for-one provision" that gives patients more options in accessing diagnostics. It said it adds
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