Ontario postpones end of emergency OHIP coverage abroad to accommodate dialysis patients

Thestar.com
August 9, 2019
Rob Ferguson

It’s a summer holiday retreat.

The Ford government is postponing the controversial cancellation of out-of-country emergency medical coverage under OHIP until Jan. 1, when a new program will kick in to continue financial support of life-saving kidney dialysis for Ontarians travelling outside Canada.

Health Minister Christine Elliott announced the climbdown in a news release Thursday after facing pressure from dialysis patients who said they could not afford to go abroad without subsidies for their expensive treatments, leaving them trapped at home.

Out-of-country coverage for medical emergencies under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan had been slated to end Oct. 1 but officials said the deadline was pushed back to allow time for a “seamless transition” and to allay concerns from travel health insurance companies.

“Our government listened to Ontarians on dialysis about the need to preserve and protect their ability to safely travel and work abroad,” Elliott said in a statement.

“This new program to fund out-of-country dialysis services will ensure hemodialysis patients can plan trips confident they can access the medically necessary services they rely on.”

Elliott acknowledged the dialysis snag in May and said the government would take steps to fix the problems, while critics said it showed Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative administration decided to axe the out-of-country OHIP emergency coverage without thinking of all the consequences.

“Doug Ford never does the right thing until he gets caught. His decision to cut out-of-country OHIP coverage flies in the face of the Canada Health Act and hurts thousands of Ontarians, including dialysis patients, who are unable to get private travel insurance because of their medical conditions,” New Democrat MPP France Gelinas said Thursday.

“The credit for today’s partial reversal belongs to the brave dialysis patients who spoke out at Queen’s Park, and in their own communities, against this short-sighted move,” added Gelinas (Nickel Belt), her party’s health critic.

Dialysis patients will still be entitled to $210 per treatment -- which does not cover the full cost -- from $700,000 in annual funding that will be given to the Ontario Renal Network, which will operate the program.

The dialysis process cleanses toxins from the blood of people with malfunctioning kidneys, and the treatment cost varies but can range from $300 to $750 U.S. south of the border.

Ontario has been spending $9 million a year on emergency medical coverage abroad -- providing up to $400 per day for higher levels of care and up to $50 daily for emergency outpatient and doctor services -- but decided to scrap the program saying it is “inefficient” because it cost $2.8 million a year to administer the claims.

Elliott called it “an irresponsible use of taxpayer money” in her statement Thursday.

“The program does little in the way of providing meaningful travel coverage or value to taxpayers, especially when private insurance plans are readily available and offer the level of coverage everyone should have when travelling.”

She encouraged Ontarians to buy travel insurance when leaving the country, to make sure potentially high medical costs are covered if they become seriously ill or suffer any substantial injuries.

Travel insurance providers had urged the province to wait until next spring to cut off the emergency medical coverage, saying insurance companies needed more time to determine appropriate premium rates and to allow travellers time to adjust.

Last month, federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor reiterated warnings from several health groups that the cancellation would hurt Ontarians who travel regularly to the United States and elsewhere.

“If all publicly financed reimbursement of out-of-country physician and hospital services is eliminated, private health insurance premiums for travellers will inevitably rise for all Ontario residents,” she said in a letter to Elliott.

“Even modest increases could pose a hardship for some individuals.”