Ontario May Have Private Health Care by Summer
Ontario May Have Private Health Care by Summer by Rick Hendershot, Linknet Health, January 12, 2006Canadian federal politicians are duking it out to get elected in a national election on January 23, and one of the hot issues is health care. This year it is an even more sensitive issue in light of a recent Supreme Court decision that seemed to open the way for private health clinics in order to provide timely care to Canadians. As predicted by detractors of privatization of the system, a private health-care company, Copeman Healthcare, announced on Wednesday that it plans to move into Ontario this summer and every major Canadian city by 2007. According to the company, new clinics will open in Toronto, Ottawa and London, Ontario this summer. More are planned for other major Canadian cities over the next two years. Ontario's Minister of Health, George Smitherman, expressed concerns over the initiation fee the company is planning to charge. Each of the Ontario clinics would have eight physicians and accept a maximum of 4,000 patients to limit wait times. They intend to charge a $ 1,200 enrolment fee and $ 2,300 per year, which would give patients access to a general practitioner plus a number of specialists. Smitherman expressed the same reservations that Canadian politicians normally have about such plans: enrollment fees are an impediment to equal access for all citizens, and private clinics threaten to drain off resources, including doctors, from the public system. Similar clinics are already operating in Vancouver, without too many apparent problems. Lose Weight While You Sleep Healthy Living Blog
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