B.C. Supreme Court is set to examine a controversial medical care lawsuit this morning.
The lawsuit was launched in 2009 by plaintiffs led by Dr. Brian Day, a partner in a private clinic, who claim physicians should be able to bill patients unlimited amounts for all procedures and services.
Day’s group is also petitioning the court to enable private insurance companies to be allowed to sell insurance that duplicates Medicare.
WATCH: Michael Butler from Council of Canadians explains why Dr. Day’s case is bad for Canadians
BC Health Coalition, one of the outspoken opponents of the lawsuit, calls the case “the lawsuit against Canadian medicare.”
“This case threatens our ability to access quality, timely care in Canada,” said Adam Lynes-Ford, Campaigner with the BC Health Coalition in a release. “If this lawsuit is successful, it would result in longer wait times, poorer health, and runaway public health care costs for Canadians.”
Lynes-Ford says presently Canadians can access care based on their need, not their ability to pay.
But Lynes-Ford says the lawsuit strikes at the heart of that principle.
“Without universal care, evidence shows we’ll be left with a US-style, two-tier health care system: where people go bankrupt, lose their homes and lifesavings, or worse, because they can’t afford treatment when they need it.”
WATCH: Archive, Aug. 2014: Brian Coxford reports on a major court case that will focus on whether patients should be able to pay for private surgery if they cannot get timely care in the public system.
Meawnhile, Day maintains patients are waiting too long for treatment and should have the right to spend their tax dollars on private care if they can’t get access to health care in a timely manner.
“We want to achieve that by striking down what we consider to be very draconian laws in Canada that tell you as a free citizen in a free country, that no matter how much you are disabled, you cannot spend your own money on your own health,” said Day back in 2014.
His patient paid for his own ACL operation because the public system was unable to accommodate him for months.
Day says the fight is for this patient and others who have to wait.
But Lynes-Ford says another concern is for physicians, nurses and health care workers leaving the public health care system, which means fewer medical professionals available to care for public health care patients.
Global News will be following this lawsuit throughout the hearing process and will have more details as they become available.