Watch Antonia Maioni on the Canada Health Act principle of portability

Antonia Maioni, a visiting scholar in Canadian Studies at Harvard University and McGill professor, joined the Canadian Health Coalition’s Anne Lagacé Dowson to discuss the principle of portability in the Canada Health Act on May 7 on Zoom. The video of the webinar is now available for viewing here –

Maioni’s research interests include public policy and health care reform, comparative politics, and Canadian and Quebec politics.

Perhaps the least understood principle, Maioni explained how portability in health care works across Canada. When someone in Canada needs emergency health services, they can access such services no matter where they are in Canada or whether they are a citizen or not. They may have to pay later but no one is denied emergency health care. For other kinds of health care services, reciprocal agreements exist between provinces and territories on what they will cover and how.

There is a list of excluded health services that are not covered under Interprovincial Health Insurance Agreements, such as IVF treatments, genetic screening, and cosmetic surgeries. Only recently was abortion taken off the list of excluded services, in 2015.

An audience member was surprised to get a bill for an ambulance they had to take in another province. Some provinces charge for ambulances and others do not. For example, in New Brunswick, ambulance services used to be free but are now $130.60 for New Brunswick residents.

The webinar series on the Canada Health Act principles continues with Katherine Fierlbeck on a principle of comprehensiveness on May 28.

Upcoming Webinars

May 28 at 7:00 PM EST
Comprehensiveness with Katherine Fierlbeck, Chair, Political Science, Dalhousie University, and co-author of The Boundaries of Medicare

June 4 at 7:00 PM EST
Public Administration with Greg Marchildon, Ontario Research Chair in Health Policy and System Design and Professor at the Institute of Health, Policy and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, co-author of The Boundaries of Medicare, and former director of the Romanow Commission

June 11 at 7:00 PM EST
Accessibility with Colleen Flood, Dean of Law, Queen’s University, and Jane Philpott, Dean of Health Sciences and Director of the School of Medicine, Queen’s University

The webinar series will set the stage for the Canada Health Act at 40 Research Roundtable, co-hosted by the Canadian Health Coalition and the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, happening on June 20 at the University of Ottawa.

For more information, contact Tracy at tglynn@healthcoalition.ca.