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| Photo: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/ohip/ |
Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak vows to finally tackle OHIP fraud;
"Ontario eagerly welcomes visitors and tourists," Hudak said. "But if you are coming to Ontario to help yourself to free health care with a fake or forged or stolen ID — as far as I'm concerned, the only part of Ontario you should see is the inside of a prison cell. We will require that everyone present photo ID if they have the old red-and-white health card."
In case you were thinking that OHIP fraud is a nothing issue, you may want to think again.
According to Ontario Health, the plastic red and white health cards that do not have photo ID were issued in 1990 (see page 4). Tell that to the thousands of callers on CFRA radio that have been calling in the last few days saying they have had their card much earlier than that.
But it gets better...
Seems back in 2007, good ol Dalton McGuinty was made more than aware of the problem of fraud with the old health cards but never did anything about it:
CBC news reported "Critics say the Ontario Liberal government is turning a blind eye to health-care fraud by not quickly phasing out millions of old health cards following a recommendation from the province's auditor general months ago.
There are still 5.7 million old red-and-white cards in circulation, and the auditor estimated last December there are 300,000 more cards than there should be."
Mismanagement in health care administration in this province is nothing new, despite the recent scandals. As far back as 1987, the provincial auditor criticized the health ministry for dispensing more than 25 million active OHIP numbers in a province with only 9 million residents.
The 1992 auditor's report noted that, despite all the expense and effort ($40 million dollars spent by the Liberal government in 1990 to issue those red and white plastic cards), the number of health cards in circulation still exceeded the Ontario population by more than 300 000 six years later.
While the Ontario government has claimed that it is trying to phase out the old cards, many card holders received notices in the mail regarding a new health card around 1995, but that was the extent of the governments efforts to get residents to switch to the new green cards.
It certainly doesn't help matters when physicians themselves were given instruction to allow patients to continue to use their red and white health cards. (see page 12).
Tourists, illegal immigrants, etc., if they can get a hold of one of these cards and claim to be the person whose name appears on the card can receive healthcare services at the taxpayers expense, not theirs. Provide further ID? Oh no, that would be accessing personal information, something that cannot be done right now, but Hudak hope to change that.
It's not just the patients that commit fraud in within the Ontario health care system, but Dentists, Doctors and Pharmacists have been known to bill patients for services unrendered, even to deceased persons. According to an article back in 2005 in the National Post:
"From doctors who bill for non-existent appointments to dentists who perform major restorative work on healthy teeth and organized rings that recruit every sort of health professional, economic crime saps billions of dollars a year, by some accounts, from the over-burdened health system...
With about $40-billion of Canada's $130-billion in annual health care spending paid out by public and private insurers for billed services or products -- and thus susceptible to abuse -- the total fraud could range from $2-billion to almost $8-billion, although no one really knows the extent of the phenomenon."
Clearly, this issue requires greater attention in both the media and from Ontario residents than what has been given up until now. It's been 16 years since the new green health cards were issued. I think it's about time something was done to prevent further fraud from both patients and care givers in the provinical health system.
