Updated: 4:22 p.m.
Dr. Brian Peterson, a surgeon with the Okanagan Health Surgical Centre, says having a two-tier medical system will allow shorter wait times for patients using public healthcare.
About 15 people stood outside the centre鈥檚 building Tuesday and presented a symbolic invoice as a statement against extra billing, which has had a negative effect on the public heathcare system. The protesters carried invoices titled 鈥淧ast Due鈥� in the amount of $15.9 million.
鈥淚t鈥檚 (the protestors) interpretation that a two-tier healthcare system is going to destroy healthcare in Canada鈥� If you provide another line of access for patients, you鈥檙e going to shorten the list,鈥� he Peterson. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to protect the Health Care Act so that Canadians don鈥檛 have the right to seek private treatment.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we鈥檙e coercing patients to seek private care and bill the government at the same time, we鈥檙e giving you the option. You can either wait or have it done privately.鈥�
Dr. Brian Day, a former president of the Canadian Medical Association, continues a lengthy lawsuit challenging the government鈥檚 ability to bar procedures from his Cambie Surgery Clinic in Vancouver.
鈥淭his is before the courts whether or not the Health Care Act trumps the Charter of Human Rights in Canada,鈥� said Peterson.
Original:
91大黄鸭 residents gathered Tuesday to protest a private clinic that is suspected of illegally extra-billing patients.
Organizer Ken Robinson addressed a crowd of about 15 people, saying a symbolic invoice was created for the Okanagan Health Surgical Centre as a statement against extra billing, which has a negative effect on the public heathcare system. The protesters carried invoices titled 鈥淧ast Due鈥� in the amount of $15.9 million.
鈥淕reat Canadian universal public healthcare shouldn鈥檛 depend on the size of your bank account,鈥� he said.
B.C. has the most private clinics in Canada and the longest waiting times for surgeries, which he attributes to extra-billing undermining the healthcare system.
During the protest, a member of the public said he paid extra because his wife was sick and she needed care as quickly as possible.
鈥淭hat sounds like the U.S. heathcare system and I鈥檓 glad he had the financial resources to be able to do that, but here in Canada, we have a universal publicly funded system鈥� when he does that, it means the wait list in the public system ends up longer. The proof in that is that B.C. has the most private clinics and the most extra billing in Canada,鈥� said Robinson. 鈥淚鈥檓 very happy for his wife.鈥�
No one could be reached for comment at the surgical centre Tuesday morning.
In early April, Minister of Heath Adrian Dix will be enforcing outstanding sections of the Medicare Protection Amendment Act. The act was passed in 2003, but some sections were not brought into force, according to a provincial government news release.
鈥淓xtra billing means charging a patient or a representative for health care that should be provided at no cost, because it is covered under the Medical Services Plan, or publicly funded as a benefit under the Hospital Insurance Act,鈥� said the release.
Based on audits conducted by the Ministry of Health, Health Canada estimated extra billing for 2015-16 was $15.9 million, and in March federal health funding was reduced by that amount.
鈥� With files from Tom Fletcher
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