The Voice of Canadians With Breast Cancer
your path to accessing financial resources
In Canada, we have a system of universal coverage for basic medical care. It is informally referred to as “medicare”. It is not a national program – under legislation, our provinces and territories are required to fund hospital and doctor services and make sure their residents have reasonable access to these services. The federal government’s role is to provide funds from tax revenue so the provinces can operate these services. Under our Canada Health Act, all provinces are accountable to ensure their hospital and physician services are accessible to all, universal (i.e. everyone can get the same services) and portable.
Over time, what is considered “basic” hospital and physician care has expanded to include many services and products.
There are numerous health services and products that are not covered under our medicare system because they are used outside of hospitals and physician offices.
It is the responsibility of the patient to pay for these services/products. A province or territory might choose to provide a program to help with the cost of a particular service/product, but this is up to each provincial/territorial government. If a program is offered, it is usually not 100% coverage and is a voluntary program. Subsidized home care service and provincial drug plans are examples of these kinds of programs. Community groups and charitable organizations may also offer assistance programs like volunteer transportation services, wig and prosthesis funds, etc. Again, this varies by region.
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