The Canada Health Act, also referred to as the CHA, is the piece of federal legislation that covers publicly funded health care insurance. The CHA primary objective is “to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers” (Canada Health Act, 2017). This means that Canadians have access to insured health services without having to pay at time of service.
When looking at the many articles and resources that discussed how to modernize the CHA, especially in my home province of Ontario, the issue of OHIPs 3 month waiting period came up consistently. OHIP stands for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. This is the publicly-funded health insurance plan that cover medically necessary health services as described in the CHA and/or determined y the province (A Universal Healthcare System, 2016).
In Ontario, new immigrants, Canadian citizens who have been outside of Canada for greater than 212 days (n the previous year) as well as temporary foreign workers, must wait three months before they can access OHIP. During this time, these individuals will be required to pay out of pocket or utilize private insurance to receive health care. In 1994, the Ontario Government implemented this waiting period as a cost-saving measure when it’s costing more. People without coverage will wait until their health is in dire need of attention before they seek medical help. It is at this point that the cost of care will inevitably be significantly more than if they would have received care as soon as there was an issue (Eliminate the three-month OHIP wait, 2017).
By making an amendment to the Health Insurance Act, the Government could remove this wait period and allow Ontarian's to access care immediately when needed, thus reducing the cost and burden to our healthcare system when insurance is finally approved for use. Health care is a fundamental human right as declared in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights (1948) and therefore we are responsible to ensure that all Canadians have access to healthcare. Removing the wait period for health insurance is one small step the Government can take to ensure equal access to care for all.
References
A Universal Healthcare System. (2016). Retrieved from OHIP For All: Healthier Together: https://ohipforall.ca/why-ohip-for-all/
Canada Health Act. (2017, 11 09). Retrieved from Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/canada-health-care-system-medicare/canada-health-act.html
Eliminate the three-month OHIP wait. (2017, 12 11). Retrieved from Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario : https://rnao.ca/policy/action-alerts/Eliminate-the-three-month-OHIP-wait
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (1948). Retrieved from United Nations:
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