Ontario challenges opening of private health clinics

The announcement by Copeman Healthcare Inc. that it intends to open private health clinics in some parts of Canada is being challenged by the Ontario Health Coalition.

The private health group plans to open clinics in Ottawa, London and Toronto.

The clinics will charge Ontario Health Insurance (OHIP) and will also expect patients to pay additional out-of-pocket initiation fees of $1,200 plus a $2,300 annual fee for enhanced or boutique health services.

Natalie Mehra Director of the Ontario Health Coalition, say the move, which implies enhanced healthcare for the wealthy, violates the spirit and intent of the Canada Health Act and the public Medicare system.

She says their lawyers and are investigating the avenues for presenting a challenge.

Executive Director, of the Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC), Adrianna Tetley, has pointed out the inefficiency of the private clinics compared to existing public alternatives.

She says that in addition to billing the public system, these centres propose to charge membership fees that will make their services almost 4000 times more expensive to the client than nearly identical services offered at no added cost through non-profit community health centres.

Tetley is concerned that the private clinics will also drain doctors and other health professionals out of the public system.

She says there are public solutions to concerns over the Medicare system, and the Ontario government has already acted by a 60% increase in the number of community health centers by 2007-08.

That, she says is the sort of measure that is needed, enhancing capacity and innovation in the public, non-profit health system, rather than putting money into the pockets of profit-seekers.

Mehra has issued a stark reminder that under Ontario law, clinics are prohibited from barring access to physician services if patients refuse to pay any "block fee".

Neither are they allowed under the Canada Health Act to charge user fees for medically necessary physician services.

This she says is the basic principle of the Canadian public health system achieved a generation ago.