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The health critic for the federal Liberals says private clinics in Quebec are breaking the law by charging patients for medically necessary services.
Vancouver MP Ujjal Dosanjh sent a letter Friday to federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq urging the Conservative government to take action.
The letter referred specifically to Medisys 123, a Quebec-based private clinic organization that operates in several provinces. Dosanjh said the firm charges a block fee at its Quebec clinics, which includes payment for medically necessary procedures.
He said such practices contravene the Canada Health Act and should be stopped.
"Any contraventions of the Canada Health Act undermine the goal of Canadians to defend and improve our health-care system," said Dosanjh in the letter.
"No one in Canada should be able to charge patients for medically necessary procedures," he said.
When asked for a response, Jenny Van Alstyne, a spokesperson for Aglukkaq, thanked Dosanjh for bringing the matter to the minister's attention.
"Our government is committed to a universal and public health-care system, and to the Canada Health Act," she said in an email to CBC.
"Unlike the previous Liberal government, we won't balance the budget by cutting health care."
Van Alstyne said officials will investigate.