Health card catch-22 stymies Ottawa handyman – CBC

Jorg Santowski says he’s visited 8 Service Ontario outlets with no one able to help

Jun 03, 2024

An Ottawa man who has spent the past five years trying to get his old-style Ontario health insurance card updated has been told he needs proof he was denied coverage to begin the process.

But a face-to-face meeting with Service Ontario to potentially get that proof is precisely what Jorg Santowski says he’s been denied.

A Canadian citizen and an Ontario resident for more than 50 years, Santowski says he’s visited eight different Service Ontario outlets, appealed to his MPP and even retained a lawyer.

But Santowski, who makes his living offering handyman services and says he can fix “almost anything,” has discovered he cannot fix the situation caused by the broken, faded, red and white Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card in his wallet.

“I was young and invincible,” said Santowski, explaining why he put off renewing his card until he had a health scare a few years ago.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/service-ontario-stalemate-1.7219739