Healthcare in Canada
Canada (with the exception of the province of Quebec) is one of the few countries with a universal healthcare system that does not include coverage of prescription medication (other such countries are Russia and some of the former USSR republics even though Russia is considering a switch to full coverage of many prescription medications in the near future). Residents of Quebec who are covered by the province's public prescription drug plan pay an annual premium of $0 to $660 when they file their Quebec income tax return. Pharmaceutical medications are covered by public funds in some provinces for the elderly or indigent, or through employment-based private insurance or paid for out-of-pocket. Most drug prices are negotiated with suppliers by each provincial government to control costs but more recently, the Council of the Federation announced an initiative for select provinces to work together to create a larger buying block for more leverage to control costs of pharmaceutical drugs. More than 60 percent of prescription medications are paid for privately in Canada. Family physicians (often known as general practitioners or GPs in Canada) are chosen by individuals. If a patient wishes to see a specialist or is counselled to see a specialist by their GP, a referral is made by a GP in the local community. Preventive care and early detection are considered critical and yearly checkups are recommended for everyone.
Canada Health Act
As required by section 23 of the "Canada Health Act", the Government of Canada publishes a yearly report describing the extent to which each province and territory has complied with the Act.Pro-choice advocates have pointed out that the "Canada Health Act" fails to meet its criteria in providing access to abortion. Abortion, as a medical service, does not meet the basic principles of the "Act": public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, and accessibility. Joyce Arthur concludes that "Abortion services fail at least 4 out 5 of these tests." The delivery of abortion services fails comprehensiveness because clinics are not equally funded, universality because of lack of equal access across the country and especially in rural areas, portability because abortion is excluded from the standard reciprocal billing between provinces, accessibility because of lack of clinics in some provinces, and possibly public administration because private clinics are forced to administer its costs.