Public health plans to cover primary care by nurse practitioners and midwives in 2026 [Video]

Provincial and territorial health plans will cover primary care provided by nurse practitioners, pharmacists and midwives starting next year, federal Health Minister Mark Holland announced on Friday.

Holland said regulated health-care professionals who aren’t doctors will be able to bill the government for medically necessary services that would otherwise be provided by a physician.

The changes are part of a new interpretation of the Canada Health Act that takes effect on April 1, 2026, the minister said, noting that the move is needed because some patients are paying out of pocket for necessary care, including at some private nurse practitioner clinics.

Holland said charging patients for those services isn’t consistent with universal health care and nurse practitioners should instead be able to bill the health-care system the same way doctors do.

Holland issued the directive in an “interpretation letter” — revising which providers fall under Canada’s medicare system — sent …