The cost of providing health care services in British Columbia is an ongoing budgetary challenge for the provincial government. Provincial data indicates that the daily cost of operating the health care system in British Columbia is $35 million. Approximately 42% of government spending goes to health care on an annual basis.
Currently, the Provincial Government of British Columbia (the “Government”) is in the process of implementing legislative means of recovering health care expenditures that result from the conduct of third parties. For instance, the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act [SBC 2000] c. 30, was enacted in order to recoup the Government’s expenditures resulting from the treatment of tobacco related disease or the risk of tobacco related disease. More recently, and of particular significance to insurers, the Government has moved to address the costs incurred by the health care system in the course of treating individuals who have suffered personal injuries and/or death as a result of the negligence and wrongful acts of third parties.
