Ontario’s push to expand private health care is making wait times worse and access less fair, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (or CUPE).
CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says five years of increased funding to private clinics has made it harder for many people to get cataract surgery in Kingston, and across the province.
The union argues the province’s plan to expand private procedures to hips, knees, and more will deepen the problem.
CUPE says private surgeries cost more and are only available to people who can afford to pay. They point to hundreds of reported cases of private clinics charging illegally for medically necessary services.
Despite extra funding, Ontario now trails other provinces in meeting wait time targets for cataract surgery.
A CUPE survey found 75 per cent of Ontarians want more funding for hospitals instead of private clinics, and 84 per cent say hospitals are understaffed.
