Madam Speaker, it is quite the contrary. The federal government is putting health care first. Canada's universal health care system is a pillar of our national identity. It represents Canadians' ongoing commitment to the values of equity, fairness and solidarity, to ensure that everyone has access to medically necessary health care services based on medical need and not on their ability or willingness to pay. Our government is investing in our public health care system so it delivers for Canadians. It is why we are making investments of close to $200 billion into the system.
The Canada Health Act does not preclude private facilities from providing medically necessary services as long as the patients are not charged for these services. Our government works with the provinces and territories to ensure the federal government's investments are used in a way that respects the principles of the Canada Health Act. As jurisdictions institute reforms to their health care systems, including using private facilities to deliver insured services, access to medically necessary services should remain equitable and based on medical need.
There is, of course, a legitimate concern that some facilities may attempt to charge patients for access to medically necessary services in contravention of the act. Our government's position remains that when provinces and territories permit private facilities to deliver medically necessary services, those services must be covered by public health care insurance plans. That is why, under the Canada Health Act's diagnostic services policy since March 2023, we have levied a total of $149 million in deductions to Canada health transfer payments to provinces that have not covered the cost of medically necessary diagnostic services provided in private clinics, leading to patients paying out of pocket for these services. Patients' charges are something our government will never take lightly. Since 2015, we have levied over $267 million in mandatory health transfer reductions to provinces that have permitted patient charges for medically necessary services delivered at private facilities. I want to assure my colleague that we will continue to take action whenever such charges occur.
The goal of the Canada Health Act administration has never been to levy penalties, but rather ensure patients are not charged for the medically necessary services they have already paid through their taxes. That is why provinces and territories that face mandatory deductions have the opportunity to be reimbursed by Health Canada when they develop an action plan to take the necessary steps to eliminate patient charges. Since the Canada Health Act reimbursement policy came into effect, $175 million has been reimbursed to the provinces in recognition of their efforts to ensure patients do not face financial barriers when accessing needed care.
Our government will continue to work with provinces and territories to ensure the public health care system continues to be there for Canadians to access medically necessary care. As our system evolves to meet the modern-day needs of Canadians, our government will continue to work alongside the provinces and territories to ensure the foundational values are respected so we can deliver the results Canadians expect and deserve, both now and into the future.