B.C. government pledges to eliminate medical service payments by 2020

The B.C. government already cut medical service payments (MSPs) in half on Jan. 1. In its 2018 provincial budget, the governing NDP pledged to remove the premium altogether by 2020. The burden of paying for healthcare services will shift from individuals to businesses with the introduction of a payroll tax beginning in 2019. It would be similar to levies in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec. The B.C. government collected $2.6 billion in MSP premiums in the 2016-17 fiscal year and estimates the payroll tax will provide $1.9 billion in revenue in its first year.