No end in sight: Optometrists and government locked in stalemate
It’s been three weeks since Ontario eye doctors withdrew provincially insured eye services after a breakdown in talks with the Ford government over reimbursement of costs.
“I think government, opening their eyes and looking at the big picture,” says Donna Carter, who’s been retired for a year and has since picked up one of her old passions-reading.
“It’s making me very anxious because I’m thinking I am having some difficulty.”
The 68-year-old had an eye exam scheduled for Sept. 16, but was cancelled due to job action by Ontario eye doctors.
“I happen to be pre-diabetic, so it’s important to have my eyes checked annually,” says Carter.
The base of the job action is that doctors are only reimbursed by the government about $45 for each patient, but the cost of the appointment is closer to $80.
The provinces health plan covers annual eye exams for residents 19 and under, 65 and older or people with specific health conditions.
“A $5 increase in 32 years doesn’t make sense,” says Windsor eye doctor, John Mastronardi.
He says the province did offer a $39 million retroactive payment and also offered to increase the reimbursement closer to $50.
“The next lowest publicly funded province for eye care is Manitoba and we would need a 70 per cent increase just to get to the second lowest,” Mastronardi tells CTV News.
Spokesperson for the Minister of Health, Alexandra Hilkene says:
“It is not reasonable or responsible for the government to agree to any other increase without first engaging in a process of due diligence to validate the facts.
As part of our offer we have proposed to immediately set up a joint working group. This includes a thorough understanding of the costs optometrists incur in delivering their services to Ontarians.”
Mastronardi says The Ontario Association of Optometrists have sent an open letter to MPP’s voicing their concerns.
“Our patients have been very understanding, the math is simple,” he says. “Ontarian’s get it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.