Halvorson's lawyer, Sandy Kovacs, says the lawsuit requests that the case date to 1984, when the Canada Health Act was enacted. Kovacs estimates BC physicians have lost $140 million since then because they weren't paid for providing care to uninsured patients. Before 1996, medical insurance for BC residents was cancelled if premiums were in arrears for more than 3 months; physicians lost about $10 million a year because of nonpaid treatment provided to these deinsured patients. After 1996, changes were made to cover people for up to a year after they fell into arrears. Kovacs estimates that about $5 million a year is owing to physicians for uninsured services provided since then. BC and Alberta are the only provinces charging medical insurance premiums. In BC, premiums cost $64 monthly for families with 2 children.

About 40 000 of BC's 4 million residents are currently unregistered. Nonpayment of premiums doesn't limit a person's health coverage "in any way," says Jeff Gaulin, a government spokesperson. The government tries to trace unregistered people; if there is no contact for a year, they are assumed to have left the province.

Emergency physicians are affected most. At St. Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver, which serves many homeless people who have no insurance, emergency doctors opted for a service contract 10 years ago to cover uninsured patients' billings.