Feds claw back $1.9 million in health transfers from New Brunswick

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OTTAWA • The federal government says it’s clawing back $1.9 million in federal health transfers from New Brunswick predominantly as a penalty for allowing private companies to charge patients for medically necessary health services.

It’s a decision that was blasted by Premier Blaine Higgs on Thursday evening as “politics” in the aftermath of his government’s provincial budget.

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland announced on Thursday that the Trudeau government is again enforcing a policy against paying out of pocket for diagnostic tests.

It’s reducing health transfers to seven provinces by a total of over $79 million for allowing them to operate.

That said, it also rebated some provinces that made changes after facing clawbacks last year.

New Brunswick is only getting another fine.

A total of $1,794,635 is being clawed back for allowing private diagnostic services to operate in the province.

Another $109,275 is being levied for not paying for medically necessary abortion service outside of hospitals.

In a statement on Thursday evening, Higgs said the move amounts to “the Trudeau Liberals are once again playing politics by defunding health care.

“Just one day after we announced the biggest health-care budget in New Brunswick history, Justin Trudeau is trying to help Susan Holt and her flailing campaign by cutting health-care funding,” Higgs said.

“This will not help reduce wait times, and it will not provide better care for New Brunswickers.”

Tuesday’s provincial budget included $3.8 billion for health care, a record but an amount that’s $1.6 million over the province’s revised spending figure in the current fiscal year.

The costs are associated with out-of-pocket costs New Brunswickers made at private clinics in 2021-22, although the penalty is only being issued now.

“A lot of Canadians were being charged for diagnostic services they shouldn’t have been charged for,” Holland said. “The public nature of our health-care system is absolutely essential.”

The figures are roughly similar to what the feds clawed back last year.

The clawback doesn’t pertain to the Higgs government’s efforts to expand cataract surgeries in private clinics outside hospitals as they are funded by public money and don’t require New Brunswickers to pay out of pocket.

Instead, the feds have previously said that New Brunswick is being docked the money for allowing a private diagnostic clinic to operate in the province.

There is a single private MRI clinic operating in Moncton.

Health Canada estimates that patient charges for insured diagnostic services amounted to roughly $1.8 million at that clinic.

New Brunswick is one of a handful of provinces that allows private clinics to exist.

The feds said on Thursday that the deductions may be reimbursed if the implicated province or territory carries out what it calls a “reimbursement action plan” to eliminate the patient charges as well as the circumstances that led to them.

It will fully reimburse the money if all patient charges have been eliminated or partially reimburse if some, but not all, patient charges have been eliminated within the next two years.

Thursday’s announcement showed the feds are actually reimbursing more this year than clawing back.

A total of $90 million was given back to six provinces who made changes after being previously fined. It means that only New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are getting more money clawed back than reimbursed.

“I’m pleased to say that for most jurisdictions more money is flowing back to provinces than they are being charged in reductions which means we’re seeing things moving in the right direction,” Holland said. “We’re well on the path to eliminating a circumstance where patients are paying for care which is highly inappropriate.”