By Jacquie Maund, Policy Lead, Policy and Communications
Health Minister Eric Hoskins responded to the concerns expressed by representatives from the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), Canadian Doctors for Medicare, the Association of Ontario Midwives, and AOHC about medical tourism. The Minister has now requested Ontario hospitals not to solicit or treat international patients, except where a hospital has an existing international consulting contract. The MOHLTC will work with relevant hospitals on a framework to ensure compliance with specific principles and requirements from the Ministry.
“We’re very pleased with the direction in which Minister Hoskins is heading. Medical tourism undermines our universal, publicly funded, not- for- profit health system and we will keep working on this issue until there is a complete ban”, stated Adrianna Tetley in a public response. The coalition will continue to monitor the situation, and will work with Minister Hoskins and MOHLTC to ensure our not-for-profit health-care system is not turned into a commodity.
Medical tourism is a practice where healthcare institutions create for-profit programs to attract international patients who receive healthcare on a pay-for-treatment basis. The concerns are that if hospitals can treat patients from other countries in exchange for money, Ontarians could also demand the same priority service for a fee. This compromises our health system, putting it on a slippery slope toward a two-tier system of healthcare where a parallel for-profit system provides care to those who can afford to pay.
“The Association of Ontario Health Centres is firmly committed to a not-for-profit, publicly funded health system. We’re opposed to medical tourism because it represents a shift to for-profit, private care. Health care is a public good - not a business venture,” said Adrianna Tetley, CEO of AOHC.
