Health insurance in Canada

Most health insurance in Canada is administered by each province, under the national law that requires all people to have free access to basic health services. Collectively, the public provincial health insurance systems in Canada are frequently referred to as Medicare. Private health insurance in Canada is allowed only for services that the public health plans do not cover; for example, semi-private or private rooms in hospitals and prescription drug plans. Canadians also must use private insurance for elective medical services such as Lasik surgery, plastic surgery such as liposuction, and other non-basic medical procedures. Private health insurance cannot cover physician fees which are covered by Medicare. Some 65% of Canadians have some form of supplementary private health insurance; many of them receive it through their employers.[50] Private-sector services not paid for by the government account for nearly 30 percent of total health care spending.[51] In 2005, the Supreme Court of Quebec ruled, in Chaoulli v. Quebec, that the prohibition on insurance for health care already insured by the state constitutes an infringement of the right to life and security. It is yet to be seen if this ruling will change the overall delivery of health insurance across Canada.