MISSISSAUGA — Ontario is preparing for the next step in its expansion of private clinics that can offer publicly funded tests and procedures.
The province's plan to expand the number of facilities offering services like cataract surgeries and MRIs, as well as adding hip and knee replacement surgeries, has raised the ire of some health advocates who worry it is a stepping stone to privatization.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the expansion will allow more procedures to be performed and reduce wait times, and patients will never have to pay out of pocket for OHIP-insured services.
Four more clinics are offering cataract surgeries since the initial January 2022 announcement, and Jones says starting this spring the province will seek applications for clinics to provide more services — including more MRIs, CT scans, GI endoscopies, and orthopedic surgeries.
Jones also announced that Accreditation Canada has been selected to develop an enhanced oversight and quality assurance program for those clinics.
"We've been clear all along that any expansion to community surgical and diagnostic centers must be thoughtful, and these centres should be held to the same accountability and standards to provide the same level of care as our hospitals," she said.
There are currently more than 900 private health facilities in the province, largely providing diagnostic imaging services.
New Democrat Peter Tabuns said the Progressive Conservative government's plan could actually increase wait times.
"Our fundamental concern is that as you...expand private clinics in this province, you'll be bleeding staff and money out of the public system and you will be putting people in situation where wait times for publicly funded, health care will become even longer," he said.
"As we have more and more private health-care facilities, the pressure on people to pay for unnecessary treatments, unnecessary equipment, to be upsold is very strong."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published January 17, 2024.
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