Ontario passes health-reform bill that expands private delivery of care – CBC

More private clinics to offer certain publicly funded surgeries

May 08, 2023

Ontario has passed a health-reform bill that will allow more private clinics to offer certain publicly funded surgeries and procedures in an effort to cut long wait lists for care.

Cataract surgeries and diagnostic imaging and testing will be expanded while the government will create an entirely new system to perform hip and knee replacement surgeries.

The moves are part of the government’s plan to decrease wait times and reduce a massive backlog of surgeries, which stands at more than 200,000 procedures.

“We’re going to shorten the list, we’re going to give people the care they need in a rapid fashion,” Premier Doug Ford said at question period Monday just before the bill passed.

There are already about 900 private clinics currently operating across the province, the vast majority of them for diagnostic imaging and testing.

The province has not said who will regulate or inspect the new clinics.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-health-care-bill-1.6835997