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B.C. PREMIER PUSHES FOR CHANGES TO CANADA HEALTH ACT

March 1, 2006

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell has called for changes to the Canada Health Act, which oversees the country's medicare program, citing soaring prescription costs that are rendering medicines unavailable to many Canadians. In a recent speech, read by Lt. Gov. Iona Campagnolo in a meeting of the British Columbia legislature, Campbell noted that the "status quo is not an option."

Although the speech did not make specific propositions, it hinted at enlarging the private-sector role in the healthcare system and exploring mixed healthcare-delivery models, contrasting Canada's current policies to European models that have "produced better results for patients at lower cost to taxpayers." Campbell referred specifically to Norway, which operates one of the most admired healthcare programs in the EU.

The Canada Health Act, introduced by the Ministry of Health in 1984, maintains the standards for healthcare provision in the country's provinces and territories. Since its inception, the act has been regularly criticized as limiting the supply and efficiency of healthcare delivery.