Celebrating 80 years ...

During the summer of 1965, the Jewish Western Bulletin carried several full-page ads from the B.C. government, toting the new “voluntary prepaid medical care plan,” which would “provide first-dollar prepaid medical insurance for all residents of British Columbia on an individual basis, regardless of their age, health or financial status.” The province already had hospital insurance – the new benefits would cover the “medical and surgical services of the physician of a subscriber’s choice” for a monthly premium of $5/individual, $10/family of two, and $12.50/family of three or more. The medical plan came into effect Sept. 1, 1965.