Ontario unveils 3-step plan to invest in private health care

Ontario is expanding the private delivery of public health care in an effort to eliminate the growing surgical backlog.

In Monday’s announcement, Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones discussed the province’s three-step plan to reduce wait times for surgeries and procedures.

“Our government is taking bold action to reduce wait times for surgeries, all while ensuring Ontarians use their [Ontario Health Insurance Plan] card to get the care they need, never their credit card,” Ford says.

READ MORE: Premier Ford, Health Minister to discuss health-care privatization

However, critics are concerned about how the plan may impact hospital staffing and say patients sometimes have to pay out of pocket for add-ons at the private clinics.

Jones says the first stage of the plan includes adding 14,000 cataract surgeries through new partnerships at centres in Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa.

She adds that Ontario is investing $18 million in existing centres across the province for MRI and CT scans, cataract surgeries and low complexity orthopedic surgeries such as knee and hip replacements.

Future steps in the plan include expanding the scope of private surgical and diagnostic centres, such as more colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures, as well as expanding surgeries at clinics for hip and knee replacements by 2024.

READ MORE: Hamilton’s Mayor and Ontario’s Premier meet to discuss future of the city