Join the Rise Up! Rally May 30 at Nathan Phillips Square Credit: OHC
Today I’m very excited to be in conversation with Peter Bergmanis, Mike Suta and Maureen Munro who have experience with extra billing at the hands of cataract surgeons.
There has been an increase in common violations across public Medicare Laws in Ontario since the Ford government took office.
Private clinics ‘get around’ double billing by charging for preferential access to care and misleading patients that there are long waitlists that they could by-pass simply paying extra.
These for-profit clinics push unnecessary add-ons not covered by OHIP like upgrades, additional diagnostic exams, membership and administration fees.
Patients generally feel these add-ons are more like sales pitches than medically necessary information needed to help them to make informed decisions.
Suta’s partner, Debbie, had cataract surgery on her left eye in 2018. All costs were covered by OHIP. That surgery was performed by Dr. Bruce Nichols at the Ivey Eye Institute which is part of St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario.
In 2021, Debbie’s optometrist said the cataract in her right eye needed to be removed and told her there was a two-year wait for this surgery. The optometrist then suggested Debbie she see Dr. Bruce Nichols at his private, for-profit clinic Laser Vision London where she could get the surgery right away at a cost of $3,000. Debbie used her savings to pay for the surgery.
Munro paid a total of $7,000 for cataract surgery on both eyes at that same private, for-profit clinic performed by Nichols. Munro took out a loan to pay for the surgery and now finds it extremely difficult to make ends meet on a fixed income.
Nichol’s is an example of a surgeon who is working both sides of the healthcare system something that jeopardizes the entire public system.
Bergmanis opted instead to use the public healthcare system where every cost was covered by OHIP. Bergmanis had his surgery seven days after his initial consultation with his surgeon.
With close to 35 years experience as an operating room attendant, Bergmanis shares the changes that he has observed within the publicly funded healthcare system in general and surgeries in particular.
Bergmanis also points out the significance of Doug Ford announcing in 2018 that he was ending hallway medicine while making that announcement at the private, for-profit Advanced Medical Group in London, Ontario rather than at the local public hospital. That was the dog whistle to rally those favouring privatization.
Find out why Bergmanis believes that in addition to putting the brakes on Ford’s plans to expand privatization, Ontarians needs to bring down the libertarian Ford government in order to save healthcare as well as democracy.
Below is important information for those suspecting, or knowing, they have been charged for healthcare services covered by OHIP and for folks who want to stop the privatization of Ontario’s universal public healthcare system.
In 2004, the McGuinty Liberals passed Bill 8, Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, which states in the preamble that the people of Ontario and their government:
Recognize that Medicare - our system of publicly funded health services - reflects fundamental Canadian values and that its preservation is essential for the health of Ontarians now and in the future;
Confirm their enduring commitment to the principles of public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and accessibility as provided in the Canada Health Act;
Continue to support the prohibition of two-tier medicine, extra billing and user fees in accordance with the Canada Health Act;
Believe in a consumer-centred health system that ensures access is based on assessed need, not on an individual's ability to pay;
Recognize that pharmacare for catastrophic drug costs is important to the future of the health system;
Recognize that access to community-based health care, including primary health care, home care based on assessed need and community mental health care are cornerstones of an effective health care system;
Believe in public accountability to demonstrate that the health system is governed and managed in a way that reflects the public interest and that promotes efficient delivery of high-quality health services to all Ontarians;
Recognize that the promotion of health, and the prevention of and treatment of disease includes mental and physical illness;
Recognize the importance of an Ontario Health Quality Council that would report to the people of Ontario on the performance of their health system to support continuous quality improvement;
Affirm that a strong health system depends on collaboration between the community, individuals, health service providers and governments, and a common vision of shared responsibility.
In 2010 the McGuinty government cracked down on illegal billing for OHIP-insured services by initiating Protecting Ontarians’ Access to Public Health Care which falls under the umbrella of Bill 8.
The government stepped up efforts to investigate potential illegal fees charged for services insured by OHIP. Any Ontarian who believed they had been illegally charged for an insured health service was encouraged to call toll-free 1-888-662-6613 or email protectpublichealthcare@ontario.ca.
Both the toll-free number and the email address are still active and should be used by anyone who suspects, or knows, that they have been illegally billed for a service covered by OHIP.
In April, Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) released its most recent report, Illegal, Unlawful and Unethical: Case Studies of Patients Charged for Medical Care in Ontario’s Private Clinics, detailing the accounts of patients who were charged user fees in private clinics.
Most of the patients were seniors on fixed incomes who used up life savings, borrowed money, went without or even returned to work in order to pay the additional charges.
“The Health Coalition has monitored the situation for decades. This wide scale extra-billing and charging user fees to patients never happened before the for-profit clinics began to take over our public hospitals’ surgeries, and, in our experience, it has never been worse than it is now,” said Natalie Mehra, executive director of OHC.
“Ontarians need to raise their voices in no uncertain terms and force the Ford government to stop privatizing the ownership and control of our public hospitals’ services,” Mehra added.
Mehra and OHC, a non-profit, non-partisan public interest group, are asking Ontarians to Rise Up! Thursday, May 30 at noon to tell the Ford government: Stop privatizing the public healthcare system!
The main rally will be held at the south side of Nathan Phillips Square across from the Sheraton Centre Hotel, 123 Queen St. W. in Toronto.
Then, there will be a short march to the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park where MPPs will be in session.
Folks with mobility issues who would rather not march can plan to meet up at Queen’s Park in front of the Ontario Legislature at 1 pm.
Buses are being arranged by local health coalitions to transport folks from Mid- and Southern Ontario to Toronto. Find your local health coalition here to reserve a seat.
Here’s a list of northern and eastern locations that will be holding their own rallies:
Sault Ste. Marie: Gather at noon at Roberta Bondar Pavilion for protest and march. Contact Al Dupuis at the Algoma Health Coalition
Thunder Bay: Gather at noon at mini-Queen’s Park. Contact Jules Tupker
Dryden: Rally outside of MPP Greg Rickford’s office at 429 Government Road at 11:30 a.m. CDST
Ottawa: Gather at noon at Faircrest Heights Park, 550 Smyth Road. Contact the Ottawa Health Coalition
Cornwall: Gather at 4 p.m. outside MPP Nolan Quinn’s office, 120 Second St. W. Contact Louise Lanctot or Elaine MacDonald
Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your continued support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
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