09/02/2021
The current situation with the Ministry of Health is extremely frustrating. We are saddened that it has come to this and sincerely apologize for this inconvenience to you. We do not take this decision lightly. Unfortunately, after 30 years of failed diplomacy, the Ontario Government has left us no choice.
Starting September 1, 2021, Ontario's optometrists will stop accepting OHIP because the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) continues to be unwilling to develop a long-term solution to ensure sustainable eye care for Ontarians. It costs the average Ontario optometrist $80 to provide an eye exam—the government covers less than $45 on average. We are fighting for a high-quality sustainable eyecare system for you and your family. We will add your name to our priority appointment list which means once the situation is resolved then we will start calling patients in the order they are on the list to reschedule their appointment. Unfortunately, we have no idea at this time how long this job action will last. If you have an ophthalmologist you see, you could contact them and see if they are able to address your concerns while we wait for the situation to resolve. If you would like to help resolve the issue faster we would ask that you visit SaveEyeCare.ca and send an email to the Minister of Health and we can provide you with your MPP phone number to call and register your complaint directly with them.
BACKGROUND & UPDATE:
Last November 2020, Christine Elliott, the Minister of MOHLTC advised representatives of the Ontario Association of Optometrists that optometrists should not have to subsidize the cost of each OHIP visit. We agreed. Unfortunately, that was the last time that the Ontario government was willing to make that statement. Perhaps, more disappointing, is that to this day no commitment has ever been made to ensure Ontario optometrists will not have to pay out of pocket to care for patients.
A recent one-time payment offer (39M) and an 8.4% increase from the Ministry continues to highlight that the government is not paying attention. This 'offer' first tweeted by Minister Elliott’s social media, would only cover 25% of one year's worth of deficit in payment. Currently, the Ontario is the lowest reimbursement for an eye exam across Canada provided to a senior is $47 (the next lowest is Manitoba at $77, while the next lowest are - Quebec and Alberta are well over $100), and this is similar for a child/teen. Ontario's optometrists will no longer continue to subsidize these massive funding deficiencies in a system based on a fundamentally flawed funding model. This is simply unsustainable.
The current administration has been in office for nearly 1200 days. The MOHLTC was notified of this serious matter over 440 days ago in June 2020 after the first OAO Town Hall for its members and chose to do nothing constructive since. The MOHLTC was once again put on notice 160 days ago by the OAO on March 26, 2021, when over 95% of Ontario optometrists voted to stop accepting OHIP unless the Ontario government would commit to a sustainable solution.
From December 2020 to August 2021 (8 months), no phone calls or emails from the OAO were returned by the Minister of Health and her team until early August 2021, despite telling the public and her fellow MPPs that “negotiations have been ongoing for months”.
Over 8 precious months had been wasted and evidently, no sustainability plan has been put forward for the future of eyecare, other than establish an “immediate working group” to study operating costs. Ironically, in December 2020, the Ministry of Health flatly declined such an offer for a working group to study operating costs when the OAO asked. Her current plan is like throwing a bottle of water on a house fire and has no foresight into the sustainability of eyecare.
Ontario seniors, children, diabetics, cataract, glaucoma and patients with eye conditions don’t deserve this. Optometrists will and have always been our best advocates of eye health for our patients. We love to help our patients see their best and keep them seeing. We are fighting for a high-quality sustainable eyecare system for you and your family.
Our two asks remain:
1. To cover the operating cost of the eye exam and
2. To commit to a formal binding negotiations process (just as the same types of rights that they afford other health-care providers) so that includes a commitment that optometrists no longer be forced to subsidize the delivery of eye care to OHIP patients
To date, over 260000 Ontarians and counting have sent emails and/or added their name to the Save Eye Care petition to their local MPPs who want the government to fix OHIP-insured eye care.
Ontario’s optometrists are ready and willing to protect our patients' long-term access to care. To help all Ontarians receive access to high-quality sustainable eyecare, call/email/contact:
Premier Doug Ford premier@ontario.ca 416-325-1941
Minister of Health Christine Elliott christine.elliott@pc.ola.org 416-327-4300
Assistant Deputy Minister of Health Patrick Dicerni, patrick.dicerni@ontario.ca 416-327-8929
