TORONTO — Federal Health Minister Mark Holland says provincial and territorial health plans will cover primary care provided by nurse practitioners, pharmacists and midwives.
Holland says regulated health-care professionals who aren't doctors will be able to bill the government for medically necessary services that would otherwise be provided by a physician.
He says the changes aren't happening until next year because provincial and territorial governments need enough time to adjust their health insurance plans. The new policy also"empowers" non-physician health-care professionals to provide the full spectrum of care they're qualified to give, Holland said.
Holland's directive comes almost two years after his predecessor, Jean-Yves Duclos, expressed concern in a letter to health ministers about patients paying out of pocket for medically necessary treatment. "The turn toward episodic care provided virtually by physicians and longitudinal care provided by nurse practitioners was not foreseen in 1984 when the Canada Health Act was passed," Bechard wrote.
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