The Ontario Health Care conundrum
If you were to interview a person on the
street in Florida and ask them what they
know about Canada you could expect to hear
hockey, beer and free health care, in no particular
order. This national symbol of pride
is a rallying point for Canadians from coast
to coast, but earlier this year the government
of Ontario announced that they would be
allowing more procedures to be performed
in private clinics.
In January, the provincial government issued the notice that will open the floodgates for more private clinics to charge additional fees for procedures covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
Without underplaying the importance of five per cent beer, Canadians are fiercely defensive of their health care system. When Leger Marketing polled over 2,000 Canadians in 2012, they found that 94 per cent of respondents were proud of the universal health care system, which has been developed since the Canada Health Act of 1984. After Obamacare was introduced, the political commentary publication Counter Punch published a 21-point list of ways that the Canadian Health Care outperformed the new system, but unless serious measures are taken that might be about to change.
The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is an assembly of over 50 local organizations comprised mostly of employees of the health care system. On March 25, the OHC released a report that examined the proliferation of auxiliary fees for procedures that the government reimburses private clinics for through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). The report was in response to the January notice that the provincial government will contract out additional clinical services to private facilities. The explanation of the OHC research clocks in at a mere 10 pages, but it's followed by 15 pages of research naming private facilities that are illegally charging patients with additional fees. The document outlines horror stories in which patients believed they had to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for cataract surgery, which is fully covered under OHIP and the Canada Health Act.
The release of the OHC's report was met with predictable silence from the government. A cursory call by the CBC to Ontario Health Minister, and local Member of Parliament, Deb Matthews, yielded a cursory response that failed to address the report's glaring accusations. The document itself draws attention to the fact that a similarly themed report in 2008 that provided a more exhaustive, 169-page examination of the expansion of private clinic services in every province was met with an equally disappointing response despite having reached the same conclusions.
The unfortunate reality is that the government has no incentive to regulate private clinics. Deb Matthews can hold her breath until she's out of office in a few months and the next sucker has to deal with it. Allowing private clinics to provide medical procedures has been the direction of the province since the early '90s with a major influx of these practices occurring post-2003. The benefit to the health care system is immeasurable, as potentially thousands of patients are avoiding hospitalization for procedures that are unnecessarily institutionalized. The benefit for the clinics and practitioners is equally obvious as OHIP coverage coupled with deceptive sales tactics combine for a handsome compensation package.
The trouble with auxiliary fees in private clinics is that their staffs have a vested interest in upselling their product — your health. Even the thriftiest shopper would hesitate to pick their cataract removal clinic based on the lowest price. From a practical standpoint, it doesn't seem dangerous for the health care system to allow a clinic to charge a $50 fee for a mid-colonoscopy snack, as was found by the OHC, but objectively this is a two-tier health system. Canada's health care system was founded on the principal that a person's income shouldn't determine the level of health care they have access to. When a private clinic can pay their physicians far more than a hospital by charging additional fees, there's a risk that medical professionals will gravitate away from facilities that aren't private. The logical extent of that scenario is a system in which hospitals are staffed only by those who weren't qualified enough to be hired by a private clinic.
At least we'll still have five per cent beer though right?
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
In January, the provincial government issued the notice that will open the floodgates for more private clinics to charge additional fees for procedures covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
Without underplaying the importance of five per cent beer, Canadians are fiercely defensive of their health care system. When Leger Marketing polled over 2,000 Canadians in 2012, they found that 94 per cent of respondents were proud of the universal health care system, which has been developed since the Canada Health Act of 1984. After Obamacare was introduced, the political commentary publication Counter Punch published a 21-point list of ways that the Canadian Health Care outperformed the new system, but unless serious measures are taken that might be about to change.
The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is an assembly of over 50 local organizations comprised mostly of employees of the health care system. On March 25, the OHC released a report that examined the proliferation of auxiliary fees for procedures that the government reimburses private clinics for through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). The report was in response to the January notice that the provincial government will contract out additional clinical services to private facilities. The explanation of the OHC research clocks in at a mere 10 pages, but it's followed by 15 pages of research naming private facilities that are illegally charging patients with additional fees. The document outlines horror stories in which patients believed they had to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for cataract surgery, which is fully covered under OHIP and the Canada Health Act.
The release of the OHC's report was met with predictable silence from the government. A cursory call by the CBC to Ontario Health Minister, and local Member of Parliament, Deb Matthews, yielded a cursory response that failed to address the report's glaring accusations. The document itself draws attention to the fact that a similarly themed report in 2008 that provided a more exhaustive, 169-page examination of the expansion of private clinic services in every province was met with an equally disappointing response despite having reached the same conclusions.
The unfortunate reality is that the government has no incentive to regulate private clinics. Deb Matthews can hold her breath until she's out of office in a few months and the next sucker has to deal with it. Allowing private clinics to provide medical procedures has been the direction of the province since the early '90s with a major influx of these practices occurring post-2003. The benefit to the health care system is immeasurable, as potentially thousands of patients are avoiding hospitalization for procedures that are unnecessarily institutionalized. The benefit for the clinics and practitioners is equally obvious as OHIP coverage coupled with deceptive sales tactics combine for a handsome compensation package.
The trouble with auxiliary fees in private clinics is that their staffs have a vested interest in upselling their product — your health. Even the thriftiest shopper would hesitate to pick their cataract removal clinic based on the lowest price. From a practical standpoint, it doesn't seem dangerous for the health care system to allow a clinic to charge a $50 fee for a mid-colonoscopy snack, as was found by the OHC, but objectively this is a two-tier health system. Canada's health care system was founded on the principal that a person's income shouldn't determine the level of health care they have access to. When a private clinic can pay their physicians far more than a hospital by charging additional fees, there's a risk that medical professionals will gravitate away from facilities that aren't private. The logical extent of that scenario is a system in which hospitals are staffed only by those who weren't qualified enough to be hired by a private clinic.
At least we'll still have five per cent beer though right?
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
