\n
Several health unions and a local MPP are voicing concerns over a private clinic in Ancaster that is charging for primary care.<\/p>\n
The clinic is run by nurse practitioners and the group says that since it can\u2019t bill OHIP, it\u2019s completely legal.<\/p>\n
Holistic Solutions NP opened at the beginning of this year and the lead nurse practitioner, Christopher Savard, says they would love to be publicly funded, though at the moment they cannot and the need for more family doctors continues to grow dire.<\/p>\n
Savard says since he launched the clinic last month, it has amassed around 30 patients, most of whom landed there because they remain on a waitlist for a family doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fully in favour of publicly funded clinics and unfortunately for us, we can\u2019t bill OHIP and this is our only option if we want to have independent nurse practitioner clinics.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to the clinic\u2019s website, a same day urgent care visit is $80, an initial mental health assessment is $240, a children\u2019s checkup sits at $120 and a follow up will cost $80, with some exceptions.<\/p>\n
The Nurse Practitioners Association of Ontario says a clinic like this where patients pay out of pocket for primary care is allowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you looked at the Canada Health Act it actually covers services for physicians and hospitals, so nurse practitioners are implicitly mentioned under the Canada Health Act.\u201d explains Michelle Acorn.<\/p>\n
She says there\u2019s an overwhelming demand for healthcare and these clinics are helping to ease the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is in response to publicly needed accessible care, so it\u2019s almost a stop-gap measure at this point in time. They are trying to respond to the community needs unfortunately due to the public funding models that are happening right now.\u201d said Acorn.<\/p>\n
However, the Ontario Health Coalition and the Registered Nurses\u2019 Association of Ontario (RNAO) both say it\u2019s not okay and is not a suitable temporary solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI question the motive actually. It\u2019s not in accordance with the spirit or intent of the Canada Health Act and RNAO does not support user fees at all, not for doctors, nurses, RN\u2019s, nurse practitioners.\u201d says Dr. Doris Grinspun with the RNAO.<\/p>\n
Several health unions and MPP Sandy Shaw say it falls back on the government to do more to fund healthcare.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis solution is a privatized solution, it shouldn\u2019t be the case,\u201d said Shaw. \u201cWe should have public dollars going into our public system because people should get healthcare no matter how much money they have.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Ministry of Health says at this time, services delivered by nurse practitioners, who are not part of a NP-led clinics, are not covered by OHIP.<\/p>\n
It is a violation of the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act (CFMA) to charge an individual for an OHIP insured service or a component of an insured service.<\/p>\n
Last week the province announced that it would be investing more than $110-million to connect more than 300,000 people to primary care teams and this could mean more NP clinics could be publicly funded.<\/p>\n
Click here for the original article<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(February 6, 2024) By: CHCH News Several health unions and a local MPP are voicing concerns over a private clinic in Ancaster that is charging for primary care. The clinic is run by nurse practitioners and the group says that since it can\u2019t bill OHIP, it\u2019s completely legal. Holistic Solutions NP opened at the beginning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
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