British ColumbiaEven as it faces funding and staffing challenges, a health clinic in Greater Victoria is starting to provide publicly-funded vasectomies in the hopes of making the procedure more accessible in the region.Low reimbursement for doctors providing vasectomies limits access, say advocatesLauren Vanderdeen · CBC News · Posted: Sep 29, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 29Sean Birdsell, manager of Vancouver Island Choice Clinic, says there’s a need for better access to publicly funded vasectomies on the South Island. (Mike McArthur/CBC)A clinic in Greater Victoria is starting to provide publicly-funded vasectomies in the hopes of making the procedure more widely available on south Vancouver Island. But it’s been a long road to get there, according to Vancouver Island Choice Clinic manager Sean Birdsell.The clinic in View Royal, B.C., has traditionally provided abortions, IUD insertions and miscarriage care, but Birdsell says it’s also important to provide access to vasectomies.”We just saw a need in the South Island for publicly funded care,” he said.After another clinic — the busiest on Vancouver Island — switched to private-only billing in January, local patients had two choices: a bill of up to $2,000 at a private clinic or wait for months for a free, publicly funded vasectomy.Birdsell said it’s taken a full year to get the View Royal clinic’s program running — and he expects it to operate at a loss at the outset.”In the short term, we’re going to lose money,” Birdsell said.WATCH | Public vasectomy clinic to open in View Royal: Vancouver Island clinic aims to fill gaps in publicly funded vasectomiesPeople who want a vasectomy on south Vancouver Island are faced with two choices: a $2,000 bill at a private clinic or a long wait under the public system. As Katie DeRosa reports, one Greater Victoria clinic is trying to fill that gap. ‘There’s a gap here’B.C.’s Medical Services Plan (MSP) reimburses doctors a base fee of about $104 for performing a vasectomy. The fee has risen just $5 in the last decade.Birdsell said that creates a barrier to patients accessing care.”We are really relying on the government to come to the table, realize that there’s a gap here.”Dr. Renee Fernandez, chief medical officer of B.C. Family Doctors, hopes the B.C. government will increase the fee it pays physicians for vasectomy procedures. (CBC)Dr. Renee Fernandez, chief medical officer with B.C. Family Doctors, is advocating for the province to raise the fee to be equivalent to Alberta.Albertan doctors are reimbursed almost $190 for the procedure, according to Alberta’s Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services.”The compensation for [vasectomy in B.C.] simply hasn’t … kept up with the business costs,” Fernandez said.She said B.C.’s free contraception program has had positive effects for people that can become pregnant, but it mostly applies to women. Contraceptive options available for men and people who can’t become pregnant are limited to vasectomies and condoms, according to Fernandez.”If we don’t make those two aspects more accessible, then we’re actually moving the burden of contraceptive choice entirely onto one group,” Fernandez said.Health Minister Josie Osborne wouldn’t commit to raising the fee it pays doctors for vasectomy procedures at an unrelated news conference Tuesday. (Mike McArthur/CBC)B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne wouldn’t say if the government has plans to increase what it pays doctors for vasectomies but added she is aware of the issue.”It’s something that we’re taking into consideration,” Osborne said at an unrelated news conference. “Making sure that those choices and options are available for people is incredibly important.”Fernandez said increasing the fee that B.C. pays doctors for vasectomy care would be a “drop in the bucket” of the province’s overall costs for care, especially because there are fewer physicians providing vasectomies today than there were 20 years ago.”More importantly, it will say to other physicians that this is a viable part of your practice.”Training challengesBirdsell noted it’s also been difficult to find doctors trained in the vasectomy procedure.”Staffing has been a huge concern…. It turns out that there’s no trainers willing to train,” he said, and added the clinic has developed a roster of experienced and new providers.Birdsell said the clinic will likely start with around a dozen clients per month, but they expect to scale up.”We think, to meet the need of the South Island, though, we’re going to have to be looking at something closer to 1,000 patients a year,” he said.Vancouver Island Choice Clinic, which offers a variety of reproductive health care services to patients of all gender identities, will add vasectomies to its list of services in October. (Mike McArthur/CBC)Fernandez said she also hopes the government will do more to support doctors training in vasectomy.”Without that, the burden of contraception will stay on women and people who can become pregnant, and none of us want to see that.”ABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Vanderdeen is a web writer for CBC British Columbia. She formerly worked for community newspapers, including the Burnaby Now and New West Record. You can reach her at lauren.vanderdeen@cbc.ca.With files from Katie DeRosa
This Vancouver Island clinic plans to provide publicly-funded vasectomies at a loss
