Saturday, November 06, 2004

BC announces medical privatization plan

Over the protests of public sector unions and privacy advocates, the government of British Columbia has formally announced that it is outsourcing the processing of medicare claims to a US-based company, Maximus. The prospect of this happening led to complaints by the BC Government and Service Employees Union to file a complaint to the province's Information and Privacy Commissioner, prompting the Commissioner's investigation into the impact of outsourcing and the USA Patiot Act on the privacy of British Columbians (see BC Privacy Watchdog Seeks US Government, FBI Input in Patriot Act). For more info on the recent outsourcing announcement, see:

CNEWS - Politics: B.C. announces medical privatization plan:

"...Maximus, Inc., a U.S.-based firm, has been given a 10-year contract worth $324 million, the government announced Thursday. The company also has a five-year renewal option...."

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