Although if there is a federal election resulting in a new government, it's anyone's guess what will happen...

And so stay tuned for future federal activity both in this area and in regard to virtual care

Notably, the Minister has also indicated concern about those seeking elective care outside their home province (as non-residents are not covered, they services they receive are not considered to be insured)

This will come into effect 1 April 2026

Any contravention of this new interpretation will be considered a violation of sections 18/19 of the CHA (extra billing and user charges) and will require HC to impose mandatory fines on offending provinces

Now, under this new interpretation, any insurable service provided by GPs (ie, any service that has a billing number) will also have to be covered publicly regardless of who provides it

But as health care professionals such as nurse practitioners or pharmacists receive expanded scopes of practice, they can provide the same kinds of services outside of the CHA (ie, directly to patients for profit)

Currently, provincial legislation often defines "medically-necessary care" as that provided by physicians or in hospitals

The focus is "to ensure that patients do not face charges for medically-necessary care when a service would otherwise be covered if provided by a physician"