Writing legislation

Ok, for legislation to be considered in this game, it must be done in a certain manner. The legislation will usually begin with a long title, that generally starts with "An Act Respecting....", followed by a bunch of preambles, and then the beef of the bill, finishing with information about enactment. For example:

Quote :

Universal Care Act

An Act to implement a system of universal medical insurance.

WHEREAS the provision of high quality and accessible healthcare provision is considered a matter of highest national importance

and WHEREAS the Federal and Provincial governments have agreed a system that will improve the availability of and access to such healthcare

NOW THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows

Short Title

This act may be cited as the Universal Care Act.

Definitions

“Transfer” means a cash contribution in respect of the transfer of funds from the federal government to the provinces under the provisions of this Act.

‘Fiscal Year’ means the Government of Canada fiscal year.

“Fund” means the Medical Insurance Fund

“Insured health services” means hospital services, physician services, prescription medication and surgical-dental services provided to insured persons, but does not include any health services that a person is entitled to and eligible for under any other Act of Parliament or under any Act of the legislature of a province that relates to workers' or workmen’s compensation;

“Insured person” means, in relation to a province, a resident of the province other than
(a) a member of the Canadian Forces,
(b) a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who is appointed to a rank therein,
(c) a person serving a term of imprisonment in a penitentiary, or
(d) a resident of the province who has not completed such minimum period of residence or waiting period, not exceeding three months, as may be required by the province for eligibility for or entitlement to insured health services;

“medical practitioner” means a person lawfully entitled to practise medicine in the place in which the practice is carried on by that person;

“Province” means any province that has enacted legislation to meet the terms of this Act, and opted into the program;

“Physician services” means any medically required services rendered by medical practitioners;

“Resident” means, in relation to a province, a person lawfully entitled to be or to remain in Canada who makes his home and is ordinarily present in the province, but does not include a tourist, a transient or a visitor to the province;

‘Minister’ means the Minister of National Health and Welfare.

Provisions

FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL INSURANCE FUND CREATED

1. There shall be established in the accounts of Canada an account to be known as the Medical Insurance Fund.

2. The fund must be used for the

a. Payment of transfers in terms of this Act;

b. Collection of funds from the Medical Insurance Levy in terms of this Act

3. There shall be established a transfer, which shall be payable to the provinces every fiscal year, from the fund, to be known as Medical Insurance Transfer.

4. The Department of National Health and Welfare shall both administer claims and payments to and from the fund.

5. The Department of National Revenue shall administer contributions to the fund, including any prescribed contributions, interest receivable, fines, penalties and any other form of money directly associated with the fund.

6. Any amount owing to or by Her Majesty under the Universal Care Act shall, when paid, be credited or charged exclusively to the fund.

7. The Minister of Finance is authorised to issue instruments of debt on behalf of the Government of Canada to be exclusively credited to the Fund, the value of such debt obligations not to exceed three billion dollars at any one time.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FUND

8. Every resident of a province has a duty under this Act to pay a ‘medical insurance levy’, the rate of such levy to be determined by the Minister of Finance annually.

9. Were a province has opted out of the Medical Insurance Fund then the Minister of National Revenue shall make all necessary arrangements to ensure that residents of said province are excluded from the levy at the commencement of the next fiscal year.

ELIGIBILITY TO TRANSFERS

10. Subject to the provisions of this Act, a province is entitled to the transfer in so far as they satisfy the eligibility criteria established in Sections 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 including any and all subsections.

11. In order to satisfy the criterion respecting comprehensiveness, the health care insurance plan of a province must insure all insured health services provided by hospitals, medical practitioners or dentists, and where the law of the province so permits, similar or additional services rendered by other health care practitioners.

12. In order to satisfy the criterion respecting universality, the health care insurance plan of a province must entitle one hundred per cent of the insured persons of the province to the insured health services provided for by the plan on uniform terms and conditions.

13. In order to satisfy the criterion respecting accessibility, the health care insurance plan of a province

a. must provide for insured health services on uniform terms and conditions and on a basis that does not impede or preclude, either directly or indirectly whether by charges made to insured persons or otherwise, reasonable access to those services by insured persons;

b. must provide for payment for insured health services in accordance with a tariff or system of payment authorized by the law of the province;

c. must provide for reasonable compensation for all insured health services rendered by medical practitioners or dentists; and

d. must provide for the payment of amounts to hospitals, including hospitals owned or operated by Canada, in respect of the cost of insured health services.

14. In order to satisfy the criterion respecting portability, the health care insurance plan of a province

a. must not impose any minimum period of residence in the province, or waiting period, in excess of three months before residents of the province are eligible for or entitled to insured health services;

b. must provide for and be administered and operated so as to provide for the payment of amounts for the cost of insured health services provided to insured persons while temporarily absent from the province on the basis that

i. where the insured health services are provided in Canada, payment for health services is at the rate that is approved by the health care insurance plan of the province in which the services are provided, unless the provinces concerned agree to apportion the cost between them in a different manner, or

ii. where the insured health services are provided out of Canada, payment is made on the basis of the amount that would have been paid by the province for similar services rendered in the province, with due regard, in the case of hospital services, to the size of the hospital, standards of service and other relevant factors; and

c. must provide for and be administered and operated so as to provide for the payment, during any minimum period of residence, or any waiting period, imposed by the health care insurance plan of another province, of the cost of insured health services provided to persons who have ceased to be insured persons by reason of having become residents of that other province, on the same basis as though they had not ceased to be residents of the province.

15. The government of the province

a. Shall, at the times and in the manner prescribed by the regulations, provide the Minister with such information, of a type prescribed by the regulations, as the Minister may reasonably require for the purposes of this Act; and

b. Shall give recognition to the transfer in any public documents, or in any advertising or promotional material, relating to insured health services in the province

c. Through it’s own health insurance plan permit medical practitioners to provide physician services outside that health insurance plan and not bring undue or unfair pressure or regulation to bare in terms of any tariff or fees that a medical practitioner may determine to levy for such physician services provided that such physician services do not constituent in excess of 25% of the medical practitioners annual work.

d. Each Province shall have in place an agreed fee schedule with the appropriate medical practitioners body or representatives for that Province.

16. For the purpose of this Act the Minister is the final arbiter in determining whether a province has met the eligibility criteria established in this Act.

17. For the sake of clarity, all transfers authorised by this Act shall represent no more than 50% of a provinces eligible expenditure.

FUND IN SURPLUS

18. Any surplus monies in the fund as at the end of the fiscal year are to be retained in the fund for the purposes of improving the solvency of said fund.

19. Any cumulative surplus in the fund may not exceed the sum of five hundred million dollars at any one time.

20. Should the fund exceed the limit established in Section 19 then any monies, above the threshold limit established in Section 19, shall be distributed to the provinces on a per capita basis at the earliest opportunity.

21. Should the fund exceed the limit established in Section 19 due to the Minister of Finance exercising his powers under Section 7 then Section 19 is considered null and void whilst the funds raised through Section 7 remain in the fund.

INTEREST DUE

22. Any person who fails to pay the full amount payable under the Provisions of this Act must pay interest on the outstanding amount at the rate of 6%, calculated from the day following the last day for payment as provided to the day that payment is received.

PENALITIES

23. Any person that fails to perform any duty imposed upon them by this Act or does, or omits to do, anything with the intent of;

a. Evading payment of any amount of contribution payable in respect of this Act; or
b. Causing to be paid a transfer which is not in adherence to the provisions of this Act

Shall, upon summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding four years, or both, for each individual breach of Sections 23 (a) and 23 (b).

24. Any monies transferred to a province which were transferred as a result of the actions set out in Section 23 (b) shall be recovered by the Government of Canada by means of a deduction in subsequent cash transfers.

25. A Province which receives a transfer for physican services authorised by this Act which is subsequently found to be in violation of any section of this Act shall have deducted from future transfers the sum of $5,000 or five times the cost of that service, whichever is the greater.

MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS

26. For the sake of clarity nothing in this Act should be interpreted as meaning that medical practitioners, as defined in this Act, are direct employees of the Federal government, save were such a contract of employment exists between the parties.

27. For the sake of clarity transfers and regulations related to the provisions of this Act refer at all times to the financing of 'physician services' and do not expressly prohibit the right or lawfulness of a medical practitioner billing for services that fall outside the definition of physican services contained within this Act.

Enactment

28.To be enacted six months after Royal Assent.