Recirculated by BC FORUM from BC Health Coalition

January, 2016

BC Health Coalition seeks your support to scrap MSP premiums

The public outcry about BC’s unfair MSP premiums is growing [1].

Will you join us in sending a letter to BC’s government asking them to end the province's most regressive tax?

BC is the only province in Canada that still charges a flat rate health tax. This means that families who make $30,000 annually pay the same rate as families who make over a million dollars annually [2].

Send a letter to Premier Clark, Health Minister Lake and Finance Minister deJong right now, asking them to scrap the unfair MSP premiums and integrate health fees into our income tax system.

The BC government is just weeks away from releasing thir 2016 budget and this is the perfect opportunity to turn up the pressure. [3].

If the government hears from enough people who want to see MSP fees eliminated, they’ll know they have to bring BC in line with the rest of the country or suffer the consequences at the ballot box next year.

The MSP rates have just increased again. In the last 15 years, the MSP rate has more thn doubled – a growth rate far above the rate of inflation [4].

Critics, including the BC Health Colation, have long argued against the injustice, complexity and bureaucracy added by this additional tax collection system [5]. Both the Green Party and the NDP have asked the government to change the way they collect health revenues [6, 7] and over 60,000 people have signed Michelle Coulter's petition calling for MSP fees to be abolished.

Now, politicians need to hear directly from you.

With hope,

Edith and Rick

BC Health Coalition co-chairs

P.S. Every month we get calls fom people who are being hounded by collection agencies because they can't aford to keep up with their MSP bills. Let's make sure we fund health care fairly in BC. Can you add your voice now?