Grey Zones: Emerging Issues at the Boundaries of the Canada Health Act

The Canada Health Act (CHA) creates a series of “grey zones” in which considerable discretion is granted to the federal health minister to determine what is subject to penalty under the Act. This report outlines the provisions of the CHA, and examines four current issues relating to the Act: annual fees charged by integrative health clinics; provincial healthcare deductibles; provincial funding of health services purchased or insured out-of-country; and provincial funding of out-of-province health services facilitated by private medical concierge services. In each case, the Commentary examines how the practice might be subject to penalties under the CHA, and highlights the federal role to date in debates on these issues.