The Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-02-19, Page 2Page 2—Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 19, 1986
Patient's anger should be directed at the government: Steed
®from page 1
concept of free medicine (no payment)
the years. eliminates deterrance," he said.
"Patients will discover there's a long From the outset of the bill, the govern -
delay between the time you perform the ment has damned extra -billing has made
service to the time you get paid. It could be the health care system inaccessible to
months. It will let them discover what patients, especially senior citizens, of
dealing with the government is like." • limited finances. Dr. Steed says he agrees
"Then, they'll direct their anger to there are stories of doctors extra -billing
where it should be directed - the govern- patients who can't afford it. But, of the 12
ment," said Dr. Steed. per cent of doctors in Ontario who have
As for the Health Care Accessibility Act opted out of Op1P, almost all these doctors
alleviating the problems of accessibility to have two billing numbers - one for OH1P
health care, Dr. Steed is skeptical He says and another for opted out claims. Senior
the bill will decrease access to hospitals citizens with senior citizens' cards and
and physicians. Currently, health care in people on premium assistance are billed
the province is "perceived as free" which under the OHIP number, he says.
has created greater L,;ilization of the health "The senior citizens card is an obvious
care system. The end result is decreased way to tell people who can't afford to pay
accessibility to hospitals and doctors. "The more. Most doctors are quite prepared to
not bill them as a matter of principle," he
said.
The Ontario government, claims Dr.
Steed, is also "scapegoating" doctors for
the $50 million per year it is losing in
transfer payments to the province because
of extra -billing or "balance billing". He
says the $50 million per year represents a
relatively small amount when compared
with the $8.4 billion annual budget of the
Ministry of Health.
When placing the extra -billing issue in
historical perspective, Dr. Steed says when
OHIP was first introduced, doctors were to
receive 90 per cent of the OMA rates with
the remaining 10 per cent for administra-
tion costs. To -day, the gap between the
OMA rates and OHIP rates has widened to
3() per cent. When doctors arc opting -out of
ANDREW'S ORCHARD
5 LB.
Spys
Tomato HEINZ FANCY
1 omato Juice
48 OZ.
CLARK'S IN TOMATO SAUCE
Beans with Pork
14 OZ.
SAVE .6
McCAIN FROZEN FROM
CONCENTRATE
Orange Juice
355 M.
0
,i
SAVE .70
FANCY ASSORTED
Green Giant Vegetables
12 & 14 0Z.
FINESSE 1 �G , CONTROL,
RMED HAIR
Mousse
150 GR.
2.
SAVE 1.00
Prices in effect February 19th to February 22nd inclusive.
ORANGE FLAVOUR CRYSTALS 802 GR.
WHITE SWAN WHITE, MOTIF,
ASSORTED PRINTED BORDER 2'S
Paper Towels
HEINZ 10 OZ. SA'V'E ,10
Tomato Soup
DEITY CROCKER SUPER MOIST worm,
DEVIL'S FOOD, GOLDEN,
GERMAN CHOCOLATE, CHERRY CHIP
Cake Mixes �sie
jyOr •,
Tang
ITRAFT VELUM 16, '51
heese Slices $,
SA
"Senior Citizqg
-5% Discount
.
IreMondays Only on Orders
of$10.00 ri ld over excluding
cigarettes and tobacco
Lucknow
airvie
Foods
528-3001
we deliver
we reserve the right to limit quantities
OHIP they're billing to OMA rates.
However, Dr. Steed says the extra -
billing issue is a non-financial for the vast
majority of doctors. He says the legislation
would give the government control of the
system, enabling it to set the OHIP rates
for doctors. "Nobody would really trust the
government to be fair, but we won't have
any choice," he said.
He further describes the proposed legis-
lation banning extra -billing as "the state of
other things to come."
If the hill is passed, he predicts patients
can expect reduced access to physicians
and waiting lists for hospital beds. It might
also limit the number of lab tests a doctor
can order. For doctors, it may mean
"capping" a system currently used in
Quebec which places a limit on how much a
on a quarterly basis.
to work over this limit,"
doctor can earn
"Nobody is going
he said.
Dr. Steed says the OMA is willing to
work with the government to find a better
solution in the arca of billing by doctors. In
the latest letter to Premier David Peterson
by OMA President Dr. Earl Meyers, it
stated the OMA would be willing to
participate in a study of physicians' billing
practices.
Trustees go for
weekend retreat
By Stephanie Levesque
Sixteen trustees of the Huron County
board of education will attend a retreat in
Forest fora weekend in March.
The two-day session on March 21 and 22
will see the trustees considering trends and
future educational considerations, school
board communication, educational financ-
ing, comparative educational costs and goal
setting for the school board.
Vice-chairman John Jewitt said Forest
was chosen because of its reasonable rates.
He added that a site outside of the county
was chosen so trustees wouldn't be tempted
to go home.
It's to keep the members together,' said
Jewitt.
On the Saturday morning, Dr. Witham
Nediger of the Ontario Leadership Centre of
Toronto will. give a presentation on school
trustee -school administrator relations.
Board ends in black
By Stephanie Levesque
Although it won't be official until an
auditor has taken a look at the books, the
Huron County board of education ended the
year in the black.
The four sections of the school board,
elementary school, secondary school,
developmentally handicapped and schools
for the trainable retarded and the ad-
ministration centre all came in under
budget.
Director of education Robert Allan said
there are still some additions that have to be
made but he is pleased with the results.
The elementary school portion had a
budget of $1&6 million but ended up spen-
ding $18 million or 97.1 per* cent of tt.e
budget.
The developmentally handicapped and
schools for the trainable mentally retarded
had a budget of $691,542 and spent $687,409
or 99.4 per cent of its budget.
The secondary panel had a budget of $16.7
million but spent $16.3 million which works
out to 98 per cent of its budget.
The administrative centre, including
.stipends to trustees and administration
salaries, had a budget of $2.9 million and
came in at $2.8 million or 96.2 per cent of its
budget.
The audited statement usually comes in at
about the same time as the board's budget.
Filter
Queen
IN THE NEAIT OF DOWNTOWM VARMA'
4`8 2-7 1 0 3