TORONTO, Sept. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new myth buster released today dispels the top ten common false claims about health care privatization from the Ford government and pro-privatization forces amidst Premier Ford’s plan to expand their privatization of Ontario’s public hospital and health care services.
For 100 years, Ontario has built our system of local public hospitals that operate on a non-profit basis, in the public interest. Under the cover of the pandemic, the Ford government began to make plans to privatize Ontario’s public hospital services, including surgeries and diagnostics to private for-profit hospitals and clinics. They denied these plans leading into the last election even though the plans were being implemented. Since then, an array of misinformation has been used to justify and cover for their drive to privatize our public and non-profit health services. The Ontario Health Coalition has issued a new myth buster to set the record straight.
In the new myth buster posted on the Coalition’s website here, the Coalition debunks the following top ten myths complete with details and links to the data and proof for each one:
1. The Ford government is indeed privatizing our public health care. It is false to claim they are not.
2. It is a political choice to privatize our health care. To claim it is necessary is false.
3. Privatization is a “take away” from our local public hospitals. It is false to say it is an “add on.”
4. Privatization makes wait times worse. It is false to claim that it improves them.
5. For-profit clinics and hospitals do not save money. They cost more not less.
6. Private clinics routinely charge patients thousands of dollars on top of OHIP.
7. Private for-profit medicine is not more efficient, it is more costly and more dangerous.
8. Wait times exist in for-profit health care systems. It is false to claim that private health systems do not have wait times or that Canada has the worst wait times.
9. Funding matters. It is false to claim that more funding won’t improve services.
10. We can afford to restore our public health care to its former place of pride. It is false to claim we cannot. In fact, what we can’t afford is privatization.
Background:
On January 16, 2023, Premier Doug Ford announced his plan to open new private for-profit day hospitals in three cities, expand other for-profit clinics and shunt tens of millions in public funding to private clinics and hospitals. The premier said that 50% of the surgeries done in our public hospitals could be cut and privatized. This would devastate our vital public hospital services unless Ontarians stop the Ford government from privatizing them.
In July 2021, they increased funding to private clinics by $24 million. In January 2021, they announced new licenses for “independent health facilities” (which is the name for private clinics, 98% of which are for-profit) to perform eye surgeries in place of public hospitals. The Ministry of Health issued a “call for applications” and clarified applicants could be a “corporation” rather than a doctor: “The Applicant could be a corporation that operates a Health Facility that meets the criteria for submitting an Application.”
In 2023, they awarded thousands of surgeries to private clinics. The private clinics that were awarded the licenses are TLC Laser Eye Centres in Waterloo, Herzig Eye Institute and Focus Eye Centre in Ottawa, and Windsor Surgical Centre.
In June 2024, the Ministry of Health opened applications to issue more licenses for private MRI and CT scan clinics in the fall. Once again, corporations can apply.
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (an office of the Ontario Legislature like the Ontario Auditor General) shows in its financial reports that the Ford government doubled the funding for the private clinics in the final quarter of the 2022 fiscal year (January – March) compared to the previous three quarters of the year. It has continued massive funding increases for private clinics ever since while it has repeatedly underspent on other parts of health care including public hospitals. From 2023 – 2024, Ford gave an increase of more than 200% to private clinics and increased funding to a private for-profit hospital (Don Mills Surgical Unit) by almost 300%. At the same time, they imposed real dollar cuts on public hospitals throughout the entire budget year until the last month of it, by funding them below the rate of inflation leaving them without the resources to deal with the staffing crisis and emergency department and other service closures. The picture is clear: drive the public system into the ground and use the resulting crisis to privatize.
For more information: Natalie Mehra, executive director (416) 230-6402, natalie@ontariohc.ca and Salah Shadir, operations director (647) 648-5706, salah@ontariohc.ca
