BILL NO. 40
1st Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
49 Elizabeth II, 2000
Moratorium on Medicare User Fees Act
James A. Smith, M.D.
Dartmouth East
First Reading: April 5, 2000
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act to Impose a Moratorium
on User Fees in Medicare for Nova Scotia
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Moratorium on Medicare User Fees Act.
2 The purpose of this Act is to place a moratorium on user fees and extra billing by health-care providers, hospitals and the Minister.
3 In this Act,
(a) "extra billing" means the billing for an insured health service rendered to an insured person by a provider or a hospital in an amount in addition to any amount paid or to be paid for that service pursuant to a health-care insurance plan;
(b) "health-care insurance plan" means a Provincial plan established to pay for insured services and includes the Hospital Insurance Plan and the M.S.I. Plan;
(c) "hospital" means a hospital as defined in the Hospitals Act;
(d) "insured services" means services insured pursuant to a health-care insurance plan and includes insured hospital services and insured professional services as defined in the Health Services and Insurance Act;
(g) "Minister" means the Minister of Health;
(f) "provider" means a provider as defined in the Health Services and Insurance Act;
(g) "resident" means a resident of the Province as defined pursuant to the Health Services and Insurance Act;
(h) "user fee" means any fee or charge for an insured service that is authorized or permitted by a health-care insurance plan that is not payable, directly or indirectly, by the plan but does not include any charge imposed by extra-billing.
4 Notwithstanding the Health Services and Insurance Act,
(a) no extra billing, other than extra billing that is permitted and in effect on April 5, 2000, may be imposed on or in relation to any resident; and
(b) no user fees, other than those user fees that are permitted and in effect on April 5, 2000, may be imposed on or in relation to any resident.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2000 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created April 5, 2000. Send comments to legc.office@gov.ns.ca.
