Optometrists to withdraw OHIP-covered services today after breakdown in govt talks
Ontario optometrists are set to withdraw provincially insured eye services starting today after a breakdown in talks with the provincial government over reimbursement of costs.
The province's health plan covers annual eye exams for residents aged 19 and under, 65 and older and people with specific health conditions.
The head of the Ontario Association of Optometrists said starting today, optometrists will call affected patients to cancel appointments and place them on waiting lists.
Dr. Sheldon Salaba says his group's members are currently paying for around 45 per cent of those services and says the job action comes after disappointing talks on the issue with the government.
He says there will be a delay in service for people covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan until talks resume.
However, he says people should still contact optometrists with emergencies for help reaching a family doctor or another health-care setting.
"We are going to help them navigate, depending on what is happening to them, the best option for them to receive care," Salaba said in an interview.
The province has offered to pay optometrists $39 million to retroactively account for increased costs of services.
It has also offered to increase reimbursement by 8.48 per cent.
Salaba says optometrists want an increase of 70 per cent to close the gap.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott said the government will continue funding the affected services, and "any decision to withdraw services is the decision of individual optometrists."
"The offer on the table is an extremely fair and reasonable one, and we urge the Ontario Association of Optometrists to commit to working with us to reach an agreement to ensure Ontarians continue to access the care they need and deserve," Alexandra Hilkene said in a statement.
The province said approximately 2.9 million Ontario residents received provincially insured optometry services in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.