Medical Services Plan of British Columbia
The Medical Services Plan of British Columbia is the province’s publicly funded, single-payer health insurance program that pays for medically necessary physician services and certain related benefits for eligible residents. MSP operates within the provincial Medicare Protection Act and the national principles of the Canada Health Act.
History
British Columbia introduced a provincial medical plan on 1 September 1965 during the premiership of W. A. C. Bennett. The program was subsequently aligned with the federal Medical Care Act as the province joined the national Medicare framework in 1968.Administration
MSP is managed under the statutory authority of the Medical Services Commission, established by the Medicare Protection Act, which sets physician payment policy and administers the plan. Day-to-day beneficiary and claims administration are delivered through Health Insurance BC. In 2022 the province awarded the HIBC services contract to Pacific Blue Cross’s affiliate PBC Solutions, with transition away from Maximus BC beginning that year. PBC Solutions would take on administration in spring 2023 and that operations would move to Central Saanich.Benefits
For eligible residents, MSP pays for medically required services provided by enrolled physicians and surgeons. It also covers dental or oral surgery performed in hospital when medically necessary, maternity care by physicians or registered midwives, and insured diagnostic procedures ordered by enrolled practitioners. Some optometry services are insured when medically necessary, while routine exams for adults are generally not covered.Funding and premiums
MSP premiums were cut by 50 percent on 1 January 2018 and fully eliminated on 1 January 2020. The province implemented an Employer Health Tax in 2019 as part of the funding transition. A planned premium increase announced earlier in 2016 was cancelled amid a pre-election fiscal update that redirected funds to housing affordability and other priorities.Claims processing and Teleplan
MSP’s electronic claims are transmitted through Teleplan. Teleplan lets practitioners submit claims and notes, check eligibility, and retrieve remittance information over an encrypted internet connection. The province reports that Teleplan processes over 9 million claims monthly, valued at approximately $330 million, and that about 98.8% of claims are processed within 30 days, with a majority paid within 14 days. Earlier Teleplan manuals reported lower volumes at the time, such as about 7.6 million monthly claims valued at around $300 million. The plan operates using twice-monthly payment timing and cut-off dates.The province reports that MSP collaborates with the Medical Software Vendors Association on Teleplan specifications and changes. Teleplan specifications date to 1988, with successive technical updates through the 1990s.