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About Canada's health care system - Canada.ca
Apr 19, 2025
legacy-hc-2025-04-21
ID 158239
Later capture
About Canada's health care system - Canada.ca
Jan 1, 2026
hc-20260101
ID 404539
High-noise change
This change may include layout or boilerplate updates (such as navigation or footer adjustments). Treat the diff as descriptive, not definitive.
updated3 sections changed; 8 added; 11 removed (high-noise change)
3 sections changed8 added11 removed+99 / -94 linesChange ratio: 87%
--- +++ @@ -1,109 +1,114 @@ About Canada's health care system-Learn about Canada's health care system, including Medicare, funding, accessing health care services and delivery. On this page-About Medicare-Federal funding for health care-Accessing health care services-About Medicare-Medicare is a term that refers to Canada's publicly funded health care system. Instead of having a single national plan, we have 13 provincial and territorial health care insurance plans. Under this system, all Canadian residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without paying out-of-pocket.-Roles and responsibilities for health care services are shared between provincial and territorial governments and the federal government.-The provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the management, organization and delivery of health care services for their residents.-The federal government is responsible for:-setting and administering national standards for the health care system through the-Canada Health Act-providing-funding support-for provincial and territorial health care services-supporting the delivery for health care services to-specific groups-providing-other health-related functions-Canada Health Act-Provincial and territorial health care insurance plans must meet the standards described in the-Canada Health Act-. This is necessary to get their full payment under the+How the health care system works+About the services that are provided+Canada's role in the health care system+How the health care system works+Canada has a universal health care system funded through taxes. This means that eligible residents of a province or territory can apply for public health insurance to access publicly funded health care services.+If you're an eligible resident, you may access these services through your provincial or territorial government's health insurance plan. Each province and territory decides who qualifies as a resident to receive coverage under their health insurance plan.+While each province and territory has its own health insurance plan, they all provide basic standards of coverage for insured health services. These include medically necessary hospital, physician and some surgical-dental services.+It's up to the provinces and territories to determine which services they consider are medically necessary and will cover.+The roles and responsibilities for health care services are shared between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments.+The provinces and territories are responsible for delivering health care services, which includes regulating health care providers such as doctors and nurses. If you have a complaint about a doctor, you should contact your province or territory's:+ministry of health+or+visit+About health insurance cards+College of Physicians and Surgeons+visit+College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada+About the services that are provided+The publicly funded health care system provides coverage for primary health care services, from diagnosis to recovery. These services include first-contact services provided by a physician or other health providers such as a nurse practitioner.+The health care system also covers medically necessary services provided in hospitals.+Learn more:+About health care services provided in hospitals+The provinces and territories also provide additional coverage to certain population groups, such as:+seniors+children+people who receive social assistance+This additional coverage helps pay for health care services that are not fully covered by the publicly funded health care system. Services include:+home care+vision care+dental care+prescription drugs+ambulance services+People who don't qualify for additional benefits under government plans pay for these services:+on their own+or+through their own private health insurance plans+Health care services that are not insured under a provincial or territorial plan include:+cosmetic services+private duty nursing services+testimony by a physician in court+medical certificates for work, school or insurance purposes+preferred hospital accommodation unless prescribed by a physician+Canada's role in the health care system+At the federal level, the Government of Canada:+sets and administers national standards for health care+helps fund health care+delivers health care services to specific groups+provides other health-related supports+1. National standards+We set national standards described in the Canada Health Act for provincial and territorial health insurance plans. The provinces and territories must meet these standards to receive their full payment under the Canada Health Transfer.+The standards are:+public administration+assign a public authority to administer and operate the services on a non-profit basis+universality+provide coverage for all residents+portability+provide coverage for residents when they travel within Canada+provide limited coverage for travel outside Canada+provide coverage for residents who move to another province or territory for up to 3 months until they can register for coverage under the new plan+accessibility+give all residents reasonable access to medically necessary services+give access based on medical need and not on the ability to pay+comprehensiveness+insure medically necessary services provided by hospitals, doctors and dentists (when dental service must be performed in a hospital)+cover the full cost of medically necessary services+2. Health care funding+We give funds to the provinces and territories in 2 ways:+direct health care funding through the Canada Health Transfer+additional funding through other fiscal transfers+Learn more: Canada Health Transfer-.-These standards include:-public administration-comprehensiveness-universality-portability-accessibility-Public administration-The provincial and territorial plans must be administered and operated on a non profit basis by a public authority.-Comprehensiveness-The provincial and territorial plans must insure all medically necessary services provided by:-hospitals-physicians-dentists, when the service must be performed in a hospital-Medically necessary services are not defined in the Canada Health Act. The provincial and territorial health care insurance plans consult with their respective physician colleges or groups. Together, they decide which services are medically necessary for health care insurance purposes.-If a service is considered medically necessary, the full cost must be covered by the public health care insurance plan.-Universality-The provincial and territorial plans must cover all residents.-Portability-The provincial and territorial plans must cover all residents when they travel within Canada. Limited coverage is also required for travel outside the country.-When a resident moves to another province, they can continue to use their original health care insurance card for 3 months. This gives them enough time to register for the new plan and receive their new health insurance card.-Accessibility-The provincial and territorial plans must provide all residents reasonable access to medically necessary services. Access must be based on medical need and not the ability to pay.-Federal funding for health care-The federal government provides health care funding to the provinces and territories through-the Canada Health Transfer-.-Provinces and territories receive additional federal funding support through-other fiscal transfers-.-Delivering health care services to specific groups-We provide certain direct health care services to some population groups, including:-First Nations people living on reserves-Inuit-serving members of the Canadian Forces+Federal transfers to provinces and territories+3. Health care services to specific groups+We provide certain health care services to: eligible veterans+refugee claimants inmates in federal penitentiaries-some groups of refugee claimants-Other federal health-related functions-We are responsible for the regulation of products, such as:-food-consumer products-pharmaceuticals-cosmetics-chemicals-pesticides-medical devices-radiation-emitting devices like cellphones-The federal government also supports:+active members of the Canadian Forces+Inuit and First Nations people living on reserves+Learn more about health care services for these groups:+Health services for eligible veterans+Health services in federal penitentiaries+Interim health care coverage for refugees+Health care for Canadian Armed Forces members+Non-insured health benefits for First Nations and Inuit+4. Other health-related supports+We support: health research health promotion and protection disease monitoring and prevention-The government also provides tax support for health-related costs:+We give tax support for health-related costs, such as: tax credits for: disability medical expenses caregivers and disabled dependents tax rebates to public institutions for health services-deductions for private health insurance premiums for the self-employed-Accessing health care services-Canadians most often turn to primary health care services as their first point of contact with the health care system.-In general, primary health care:-delivers first-contact health care services-coordinates patients' health care services to support:-continuity of care, which means receiving high quality care from diagnosis to recovery-ease of movement across the health care system when more specialized services are needed from specialists or in hospitals-The provinces and territories also provide supplemental coverage to certain groups of people, such as:-seniors-children-social assistance recipients-This helps pay for health care services that are not generally covered under the publicly funded health care system. These services include:-vision care-dental care-prescription drugs-ambulance services-independent living (home care)-Those who do not qualify for supplementary benefits under government plans pay for these services through:-out-of-pocket payments-private health insurance plans-Canada Health Act+deductions for private health insurance premiums for people who are self-employed+We also regulate a wide range of products, such as:+food+cosmetics+chemicals+pesticides+medical devices+pharmaceuticals+consumer products+devices that emit radiation (for example, cellphones)+Related links+About the Canada Health Act+About health insurance cards Working together to improve health care in Canada Page details-Date modified:-2023-10-10+2025-06-25