Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard says the government will table legislation to allow Quebecers to buy private health insurance for some publicly funded procedures.

After weeks of hearings into the role of the private sector in the public health system, Couillard said on Thursday he plans to go ahead with a proposal the government made last spring.

The proposal called for Quebecers to be allowed to buy private insurance for three surgical procedures with long waiting lists: knee- and hip-replacement surgery, and cataract surgery. It also suggested creating privately-run clinics specializing in those procedures, staffed by doctors from the public health system.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled last year that the Quebec government cannot prevent people from paying for private insurance for procedures covered under medicare if it is unable to provide timely access to health care.

Couillard said he will present a bill outlining amendments to Quebec's Health Insurance Act to the national assembly as early as next week.

The bill would not be passed until the fall.