Question Period Note: Canada Health Act - Abortion services

• Our Government firmly supports a woman’s right to choose, and believes that safe and legal abortion services should be available to all Canadian women.
• Abortion services are insured in all provinces, including New Brunswick, which means patients should not be required to pay out-of-pocket, whether they receive these services in hospital or at a clinic.
• This issue has already been raised with the Health Minister in New Brunswick and I will continue to work to ensure access without costs for women seeking an abortion.

• In New Brunswick, Regulation 84-20 of the NB Medical Services Payment Act limits coverage of surgical abortion services to approved hospitals (three NB hospitals currently offer the service – two in Moncton and one in Bathurst). This means that women who receive these services at the private clinic in Fredericton are required to pay out of pocket. New Brunswick is the last province with a private abortion clinic that refuses to provide coverage for services delivered there. Patient charges for abortion services received in private clinics are considered extra-billing and user charges under the Canada Health Act and raise concerns under the accessibility and comprehensiveness criteria of the Act. The lack of coverage for abortions performed in private clinics has been discussed bilaterally with NB since 1995, without resolution.
• The private clinic in Fredericton, which is the only facility in the area providing surgical abortion services, may close due to the lack of public funding for these services. In early July 2019, former Minister Petitpas Taylor met with the NB Health Minister to discuss the accessibility and comprehensive concerns related to this issue, including the patient charges being levied by the clinic for the abortion services. These concerns were reiterated in the Minister’s follow-up letter sent on July 24, 2019. NB has not formally responded to the July letter. However, the NB Health Ministry has repeatedly stated publicly that the government has no intention of changing its position on the issue, most recently in its October 2019 response to a request to fund the services that came from the health authority (Horizon Health Network) responsible for the delivery of health services in Fredericton area.
• Access to abortion services has improved in New Brunswick in recent years, under policies initiated by the previous provincial government. In 2015, the province increased the number of hospitals providing the service from two to three, reduced restrictions on referrals for the service, and eliminated the requirement that the service be provided by a specialist. In 2017, the province became the first province to provide universal coverage for Mifegymiso, under the provincial health insurance plan.
• On an annual basis, provinces and territories are required under the Canada Health Act to submit financial statements of patient charges to Health Canada. To date, New Brunswick has not included patient charges for abortion services received in the Fredericton clinic in its financial statements although they have been specifically asked to do so this year.

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