In the Fall 2008 issue of Letter of the Law, we discussed Bill 22, the Health Care Cost Recovery Act without knowing when the bill would become operative law in British Columbia. However, on December 9, 2008, the Lieutenant Governor enacted a regulation stipulating that Bill 22 will take effect on April 1, 2009. The Act’s content did not change from its first reading through to the final form that will become law in April.
Put succinctly, the Act allows the Ministry of Health to recover expenses paid to provide a beneficiary (an injured person) with health care relating to injuries caused by a wrongdoer, defined as someone whose negligent acts contribute to a beneficiary’s injury or death. The government can either join a lawsuit started by a beneficiary or launch its own independent lawsuit.
The Act imposes obligations on a variety of parties involved in personal injury incidents. Of particular note, it requires insurance companies to notify the Ministry of any potential wrongdoing by their insureds even if no legal action has been commenced.
It also requires a significant degree of cooperation from beneficiaries, including: