The Ford government has tabled the first piece of legislation as it moves to expand OHIP-covered procedures at privately-owned clinics.
The Progressive Conservatives unveiled the Your Health Act on Tuesday, weeks after outlining a multi-step plan that they claim will reduce wait times for surgeries and diagnostic imaging.
Health care advocates have admonished the plan, claiming it could lay the foundation for further privatization in Ontario.
According to officials, Tuesday’s legislation would prevent private clinics from forcing patients to pay extra for optional services, including upgraded cataract lenses. It would also prevent the option of paying extra for faster services.
“The [act] will, if passed, reinforce that people always receive insured services using their OHIP card, never their credit card,” reads a statement from the government.
Officials say the act would require private-system doctors to also have privileges to work in public hospitals.
The act would also require private clinics to outline how they plan to integrate with the public system and refer patients to public institutions. Private clinics would also be plugged into public wait-time trackers.
It would allow the province to appoint overseers who can inspect private clinics and enforce standards. Officials say this would be done before the clinics are able to do work on hips, knees and orthopedics.
As well, it includes measures to allow health workers with credentials from other provinces and territories to work in Ontario.
The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) was positive about the plan.
“We support the government’s action to move lower acuity surgeries out of hospitals, which in turn will free up hospital resources to focus on emergency, acute and complex cases, while relieving strain and capacity issues,” said Dr. Rose Zacharias, president. “The introduction of legislation to move from independent health facilities to integrated community health centres is the strongest signal yet of the government’s intention to ensure the necessary safeguards are in place as part of this transformative reform.”
The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU, a division of CUPE) criticized Tuesday’s announcement, arguing staffing concerns have weakened the health care system.
“Throwing huge amounts of money at private firms and commercializing hospital surgeries and diagnostic procedures will not benefit patients, lessen wait times or retain and attract health care staff,” argued President Michael Hurley. “We urge this government to do the opposite of what they are doing; invest in rebuilding our public hospitals, shoring up staffing with better wages and manageable workloads to improve care quality and cut patient waits.”
“This government is deliberately understaffing our hospitals,” he added. “The largely female workforce has been humiliated by a wage cap bill at a time of high inflation, leading to a spike in attrition, horrendous staffing levels and impossible workloads for those who remain. This is the context for the government’s move to privatize hospital care. The Ford government has set the public system on a course to fail, through years of budget cuts and wage restraint. The solution here is to bring staffing levels up the average of the rest of Canada, using the new federal transfer funding.”
