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Thread: Ontario is Deregulating Eye Exams

  1. #1
    One of the worst people here
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    Ontario is Deregulating Eye Exams

    Yesterday, in the new budget, the Ontario Government has decided to deregulate eye exams following all of the other Provinces in Canada in doing so. Currently the government pays for one eye exam once a year if you are 19 or under, one exam every two years for ages 20 to 64, and one exam every year for ages 65 and over. It sounds like this will go through on July 1, 2004, so if you have any more information on this please add it.

    I have a few questions for you guys whohave eye examinations at your dispensery.

    1. Do you do free exams or have you done free exams?
    2. If you do or did do free exams how did you do it and how has it worked for you?

    We have a doctor come in onlhy once a week, so keep that in mind if it matters. Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    OptiBoard Professional Eddie G's's Avatar
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    We just called the OAO (Ontario Optometrist Assoc.) and they have NO specifics as of yet.
    They still have to talk to the Ministry.

    All they told us was that Diabetics are exempt from paying.

    Let me know if you hear anything else For-life?
    What city are you in?

  3. #3
    One of the worst people here
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    I am in Northwestern Ontario. Away from big evil Toronto :P

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    Master OptiBoarder Jedi's Avatar
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    As far as I know Optometry is barred from offering "free exams" in exchange for a purchase, by their regulatory board, in Alberta at least.
    "It's not impossible. I used to bull's-eye womp rats in my T-16 back home."


  5. #5
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    Eye tests gone in a blink
    Chiropractors, physio also delisted
    Long-term costs will be greater: Critics




    RICHARD BRENNAN
    QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU

    Chiropractic services, physiotherapy and optometry exams will no longer be paid for under the province's health-care plan.



    The delisting of services announced yesterday in the Liberal budget will add up to savings of more than $200 million over the next two years.



    "No one in government celebrates the delisting or the withdrawal of any public services. These are the most difficult choices we make," Finance Minister Greg Sorbara told a press conference. "Look, we are not punishing anyone. These are less critical services in our view."



    Critics say low-income Ontarians will simply put off seeing an optometrist, physiotherapist or chiropractor until their condition is so serious that they have to see a physician, driving up health-care costs even further.



    "This is an incredibly short-sighted budget, it's going to be devastating for over 1.2 million Ontarians who seek chiropractic care to help them live their lives," said Dean Wright, president of the Ontario Chiropractic Association.



    "By removing the OHIP coverage they create another barrier to access to care," Wright said.



    Sorbara acknowledged that people will have to pay privately, "but we are not going down the slippery slope of the privatization of health care, not by a long shot."



    "These services are not covered by the Canada Health Act, and although we regret that we have to do this we have to make some hard choices," he said, suggesting it may not be the last of the services that are delisted.



    Sorbara said it is necessary to delist services that are not mandated to free up money for other more critical procedures.



    "In order to raise the revenues necessary for more critical services — joint replacement, cardiac surgeries, cataract surgeries, vaccinations for young people in the area of prevention — you have to make choices and government is about making choices," he told reporters.



    "These are difficult decisions but they are the ones that we have to make if we are going to achieve all the objectives of the budget, which (are) improving health care in particular areas, improving education and getting us to a balanced budget over a period of four years."



    Many services have been de-listed over the years, including sex change operations, electrolysis, circumcision, fertility treatments and wart removal.



    There was a hue and cry in 1998 when the former Conservative government cut eye exams to once every two years, especially among aging baby boomers, most of whom wear either glasses or contacts.



    The delisting of eye exams and chiropractic services will take effect this fall while the cut to physiotherapy won't kick in until April 2005.



    Under the changes, people under 20 years old and over 65 will still be eligible for eye tests, as will people suffering from diabetes, glaucoma and cataracts.



    And physiotherapy will continue to be provided for seniors, residents of long-term care facilities, people receiving home care and those on the Ontario Disability Support Program.



    Currently, a person only can bill OHIP for a maximum of $150 a year for chiropractic services, which the government says will result in a savings of $139 million a year.



    For an eye test, an optometrist can bill OHIP for $39.



    Delisting chiropractic services is "short-sighted" since those services keep nearly 1.2 million Ontarians out of pain and at work, said Dean Wright, president of the Ontario Chiropractic Association.



    Conservative Leader Ernie Eves said, "Obviously people aren't going to like it."



    He added his government did not consider delisting the three services in order to find savings.



    NDP Leader Howard Hampton said the delisting will affect low-income people the most.



    "They won't be able to go to the chiropractor, they won't be able to go to the get their eyes checked because they won't be able to afford it," he said.



    "In the end, this will cost the health-care system more money because they (patients) will wait until they are so sick or so debilitated and then they will go to the doctor's office and the doctor's fees are much higher.



    "Once gain there are no savings here, but boy does it ever go after someone who's struggling on a modest income."


    I found that at http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=968350116467

    So I guess it will be this fall. Well that is better than July 1, 2004. It will allow some insurance companies to pick up exams. It will also mean for a busy summer of eye exams.

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    Master OptiBoarder LENNY's Avatar
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    The exam does not have to be free!
    you can charg $1 for it.
    Unfortunatly (at least in NY ) if you got paid anything for an eye exam you have to release the RX if the person wants to!!!
    :D

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    I wish you guys in Ontario luck. Perhaps with a bit more time until the deinsurance date you won't be as crazy busy as we were. And hopefully the government will provide some vision care benefits for medical exams and people under social services.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by LENNY
    The exam does not have to be free!
    you can charg $1 for it.
    Unfortunatly (at least in NY ) if you got paid anything for an eye exam you have to release the RX if the person wants to!!!
    :D
    We always had to release the RX, and the stores here do it pretty freely.

  9. #9
    OptiBoard Professional Eddie G's's Avatar
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    Here's the latest...

    -The anticipated time of the implementation is November 2004.

    -Within 48 hours of the budget, OAO President and senior staff met with the staff from the Premier's office and Minister of Health to discuss details of the de-listing of optometry and to share our members and their patients concerns.

    -OAO team to meet with Ministry of Health bureaucrats on May 25th and June 8th.

    -Government has agreed to consult with OAO on the implementation date and other details

    -Government has promised to improve messaging on eye examinations and will be more specific in its terminology

    -Government has also committed to maintaining open lines of communication with OAO. We have asked them for information to post in your office for your patients

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