N.S. government tables bill aimed at universal mental health care
The Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives promised in the 2021 election that they would create universal mental health care.
And on Friday, that promise came one step closer to reality when Brian Comer, minister responsible for the Office of Mental Health and Addictions, tabled a bill to amend the Health Services and Insurance Act.
“Seeing a psychologist or a therapist when you need one shouldn’t be any different than seeing a doctor or a dentist,” Comer said during a bill briefing at Province House in Halifax on Friday.
The amendments would allow people to receive some types of mental health care that would be financially covered under the province’s Medical Services Insurance (MSI) plan.
Insured service programs include fee-for-service models using health services codes that outline billing fees as determined by the province. The model has been used for decades by doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other health-care providers.
Comer said to start, services offered by psychologists, social workers and registered counselling therapists would be included within the amendments.
In the near future, Comer said a service code manual will be released that will “identify services and disciplines that will be covered.”
As the bill is expected to pass because of the Houston government’s majority, Comer said he expects people will be able to access services through MSI “in the very near future.”
“In the coming months, for sure,” Comer said, adding he couldn’t give a specific date.
Comer said that based on conversations the department has had with mental health care providers, he anticipates the change will have a “significant impact” on people seeking non-urgent care in mental health and addictions.
He added there will be a process for psychologists, social workers or registered counsellor therapists that meet certain criteria to register.
The Houston government tabled a second bill in relation to mental health on Friday.
Jill Balser, minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, put forward a bill that would allow Nova Scotians who experience stress over time as a result of their employment to submit a claim to the Workers’ Compensation Board.
Balser said the amendments to the Workers’ Compensation Act are long overdue.
“We need to make sure that we’re looking as a province at psychological injuries in the same way that we are looking at physical injuries,” she said during the bill briefing.
Balser said currently under the Workers’ Compensation Act, workers can only be compensated for psychological injury when it is an acute reaction from a traumatic event.
There are currently about 30 cases in relation to gradual onset stress before the courts in Nova Scotia at this time.
“We need to make sure that we’re looking as a province at psychological injuries in the same way that we are looking at physical injuries.”
– Jill Balser, minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration
When the bill passes, Balser said gradual onset stress will be a compensable injury through the Workers’ Compensation Board.
The amendments will also result in increased funeral benefits for workers who have died on the job — from $4,000 to $15,000.
However, the bill will also outline parameters for workplace stress that will not be considered, such as performance management, termination of employment, a change in job description or interpersonal conflict.
Ava Czapalay, deputy minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, said what’s not considered is based on specific human resources-related exemptions.
“If there’s another issue embedded in it, then that’s up to the Workers’ Compensation Board to hear that individual’s story and to evaluate whether it’s eligible for compensation under this act or not,” Czapalay said.
Balser said after the bill passes as expected, the amendments wouldn’t take place until September 2024 in order to allow the Workers’ Compensation Board to recruit specialized staff and develop policies.
