Foreign visitors have left more than $200 million in medical bills unpaid in British Columbia since 2020, a new report suggests.
Analysis from SecondStreet.org found that B.C. health authorities are stuck with $200.6 million in unpaid medical bills from fiscal years 2020-21 to 2024-25.
“The government should definitely be taking a look at this problem,” SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig said in a press release. “This is costing B.C. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while access to health care for residents continues to deteriorate. B.C.’s situation is the worst we’ve seen in Canada so far.”
A detailed analysis revealed that the Fraser Health region has $94,595,000 in bills outstanding, Interior Health has $54,129,000, Island Health has $20,900,000, and Vancouver Coastal Health has $30,982,000, for a total of $200,606,000. Northern Health did not submit data….