While almost all universal health coverage in Canada is provided under the Canada Health Act, there is Medicare-like coverage that is provided outside of the act. Based on a newly published book, this presentation explores health care services and coverage arrangements that predate or have developed alongside the Canada Health Act. There are parallel arrangements for workers’ compensation beneficiaries, military personnel, inmates in federal prisons, and certain classes of migrants. There are also border-spanning services for Indigenous health, one of the least understood areas. Finally, the dramatic increase in virtual health care services since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and their relationship to the Canada Health Act is examined.

The Boundaries of Medicare: Public Health Care Beyond the Canada Health Act is co-authored by Katherine Fierlbeck (Dalhousie University) and Gregory P. Marchildon and is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.