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© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the December 2000 edition of
BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
Understanding Bill C-6
Talk of the new privacy legislation is rippling through the benefits community. Here's what it
means to you.
By Kathryn Dorrell
There is confusion and concern surrounding new federal privacy legislation designed to prevent improper use
of personal information. As one professional in the claims exchange business--who wanted his privacy
protected--sums it up: "No one has a real understanding of Bill C-6."
Misunderstanding of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (found on the Federal
Privacy Commissioner's Web site at www.privcom.gc.ca) stems from the way it is being phased in, along with
the fact that it's broadly worded and touches on a hot topic. "How it's all going to be interpreted is not
clear," says Natasha vandenHoven, a lawyer and vice-president with Aon Consulting in Toronto. "Some parties
are taking a very conservative approach."
One aspect of the Bill setting off a few alarm bells in the benefits world relates to personal healthcare
information. The new development is consent. Organizations must obtain an individual's permission when
collecting or disclosing personal information. With consent, the information can only be used for the
agreed upon purpose.
Individual plan summaries, for example, cannot be provided to employers nor can organizations review and
authorize claims prior to submitting them to insurers. There is an exception for organizations that
administer their own healthcare programs and need access to this information to do so.
The new consent rule sounds like a potential road block in terms of using data to track prescription drug
usage or employee assistance program usage. But vandenHoven says there's minimal risk of liability in
presenting and disseminating aggregate information to plan sponsors if the data doesn't enable a willing
employer to trace it back to an individual.
The insurance industry has had strict guidelines in place for sometime on this issue. "My understanding is
that in the majority of cases, there is no change to how [most insurers] will do business with most
clients," says Mike Sampson, vice-president of group marketing at Great-West Life Assurance Co. in
Winnipeg.
While the Bill takes effect on Jan. 1, the personal health information legislation doesn't kick in for
federally regulated organizations until January 2002, and not until January 2004 for provincially regulated
companies (a much misunderstood aspect of the Bill), if provinces have not enacted similar legislation.
Quebec passed its own law in 1994 and Ontario is working on a Bill.
Insurers want employers to take the legislation seriously and comply immediately. Considering providers are
the gatekeepers of health information and are entrusted with managing it prudently, this sense of urgency
is understandable. To spur plan sponsors on, information in one insurance document provided to employers
emphasizes that the Federal Privacy Commissioner will investigate complaints and can impose tough
penalties.
"Here's the part that makes carriers nervous," says Pat Wilson, a lawyer with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
LLP in Toronto. "If an individual feels that the legislation has not been complied with then they can file
a complaint with the privacy commission and even to the federal court of Canada to have practices in
question reviewed and damages rewarded." However, vandenHoven assuages these fears. "While some lawsuits
will inevitably occur, I expect the commisioner's objective is to resolve complaints before they reach the
courts."
Overall, Bill C-6 is a positive development. It has employees' interests in mind, ensures privacy --which
remains an obstacle for encouraging use of some wonderful benefits programs--and gives the industry clear
guidance on how personal health information should be handled.
Plan sponsors would benefit from discussing the legislation's implications with their industry partners,
considering how, if at all, it impacts their practises.
Kathryn Dorrell is associate editor with BENEFITS CANADA. kdorrell@rmpublishing.com.
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CONFERENCES
Reorganizing the Continuum of Care in Canada
Jan. 24 to 26, 2001 Toronto Colony Hotel
Call (800) 941-9403.
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