Non-Insured Health Benefits

The Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program provides medically necessary coverage for eligible First Nations and Inuit in Canada.

[1] In Canada, provinces and territories deliver health care services, which can be accessed by First Nations people and Inuit.

[1] Many First Nations groups assert that health benefits are an inherent Aboriginal and treaty right and are constitutionally protected.

[7] The medicine chest clause and historical documentation of treaty discussions have been interpreted by First Nations groups to signal a responsibility for the government to provide ongoing healthcare.

Though they recognized that medical care had been written into Treaty 6, the government provided health services on humanitarian rather than on legal grounds.