HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 The Medicare Protection Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 286 is amended

(a) in section 1, by adding the following:

"record" means, in section 49.2, a record as defined in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165; and

(b) by adding the following sections:

Public access to decisions and records on protecting medicare

49.1  Despite section 49, the minister shall table in the legislature any order, decision or finding of the commission or minister, in regard to s. 17 or s. 18 or in regard to whether a billing, practice or other conduct of a medical practitioner or other person

(i) has or has not resulted in, or

(ii) would or would not result in,

an administration of this Act in a manner that does not satisfy the criteria described in section 7 of the Canada Health Act, no more than 7 days after the order, decision or finding has been delivered to the practitioner or person who is the subject of the order, decision or finding.

49.2  Despite section 49, any record created by the chair, commission, commission committee, commission member or the minister, or the delegates of any of them, and

(a) which is related to an order, decision, or finding of the chair, commission, commission committee, commission member or the minister, or the delegates of any of them, in regard to s. 17 or s. 18, or

(b) which is related to an order, decision, or finding of the chair, commission, commission committee, commission member, or the minister, or the delegates of any of them, in regard to whether a billing, practice or other conduct of a practitioner or other person

(i) has or has not resulted in, or

(ii) would or would not result in,

an administration of this Act in a manner that does not satisfy the criteria described in section 7 of the Canada Health Act

is a record to which the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies and public access to the record is governed by that Act.

Commencement

2  This Act comes into force upon Royal Assent.

 
Explanatory Notes

This Bill requires that the minister table in the legislature the results of any government investigations into whether or not British Columbia’s laws on direct and extra billing or on the protection of the principles of medicare have been violated. The Bill also makes related documents and other records available to the public as a right, subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.