Patients Sue for Private Health Insurance in Ontario

Private health insurance exists in Ontario for pets but not people. It makes little sense that as parents we can provide more timely and flexible care for our kittens than our kids. The government should move to end this inequity both to relieve the burden on the existing health care model but, more importantly, to provide patients greater choice and timeliness.

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When defenders of the publicly-funded health care monopoly say that Ontarians enjoy the right to public health care, what they're really saying is that Ontarians enjoy the right to be on a wait list to receive publicly-funded health care. This sorry fact is being challenged in court by two brave individuals who want the freedom to choose a health care provider not dictated by the government. For the sake of our health, the government of Ontario should get out of their way, not fight the case and implement what is being demanded. A lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court on September 5th by two brain-tumour patients alleges Ontario's injunction against private health care alternatives violates their right to life, liberty and security of the person, as guaranteed under Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Lindsay McCreith suffered a seizure in January of 2006 and was diagnosed with a tumour. He was told he would have to wait ten weeks to get an MRI to determine if the tumour was cancerous. Unwilling to risk waiting, he sought an MRI in Buffalo which confirmed the cancer. Ontario told him he would have to wait 8 months for surgery, so he paid $27,000 for life-saving treatment in the United States. Shona Holmes began losing her vision in 2005 and got an MRI in Ontario that showed a brain tumour. Forced onto a wait list (up to six months to see an endocrinologist) as her eyesight deteriorated, she went to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona where she eventually got surgery to remove the tumour. These two Ontarians were forced to choose between government-mandated wait lists with the risk of deterioration and even death: or immediate and life-saving attention outside the country. Without private insurance options most Ontarians would not be able to afford to make this choice. They would be forced to wait and wait and wait in the hope that government bureaucrats call their number before it's too late. This case will be to Ontario what Chaoulli has been to Quebec. In the Chaoulli decision the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the Quebec prohibition against patients seeking alternatives to government wait lists. The court found: "democracies that do not impose a monopoly on the delivery of health care have successfully delivered...services that are superior to and more affordable than the services that are presently available in Canada. This demonstrates that a monopoly is not necessary or even related to the provision of quality public health care." Since 2000 Ontario government healthcare spending has increased at a compounded average growth rate of 4.7% - twice the rate of inflation. Spending stands at $35.5 billion which is 44% of all government program spending. Throwing more tax dollars at a weak system does not work. It's time people are extended the same rights and levels of service as their pets. This case will hopefully pave the way.

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