Essay on Four Insured Services in Ontario

Healthcare insurance schemes are critical for patients as they provide them with the cover in case they fall sick. The services included in a health care plan depend on the premiums charged for the cover. In Ontario, just like in other provinces, an insurance scheme was set up to ensure that patients do not pay for the healthcare services each time they seek them (Bobadilla, 2013). The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) is a health scheme that covers a variety of healthcare services. The cheapest plan caters for the basic medical and emergency services. Other expensive plans, however, include physiotherapy treatment, dental services, eye tests, travel costs, as well as other expenses for specialized treatment. According to Bobadilla (2013), the services that a patient would receive depend on the nature of the health insurance cover taken. Patients receive different covers based on their ability to pay and their health status.

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OHIP has played a significant role in the improvement of the quality of healthcare in Ontario. However, not all patients would enjoy the dental services and eye tests. Specialized services are not included in the cheapest cover, as policy makers consider them expensive. Discrimination exists about the services, as not all patients can pay the high premiums charged in insuring the specialized services (Bobadilla, 2013). Patients who have taken the cheapest covers will not be able to access dental and eye test services because they are not insured. However, other patients with similar healthcare needs would be treated if they were able to pay for the high premiums charged for those services. Despite the enormous benefits of the insurance covers, they discriminate against poor patients who cannot afford the high premiums.

New residents and former residents of Ontario are required under the OHIP coverage to wait for three months. However, some groups of the Ontario population are exempted from this waiting period. Such groups include newborn babies, protected persons adopted children under the age pf 16 who are OHIP-eligible, and non-residents of Ontario who have moved into the province to seek long-term care (Goel, Bloch & Caulford, 2013). The exempted groups receive health care immediately and do not need to wait like the rest of the population. The rationale of scrapping the waiting period for some of the people is the condition of their healthcare and the adverse effects that are likely to happen if such people are required to wait.

Newborn babies born in the province are exempted because waiting for the three months would endanger their lives and even lead to fatalities. Protected persons under the provisions of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees are exempted because doing otherwise would result in a breach of international law (Goel, Bloch & Caulford, 2013). Adopted children under the age of six fall under the exemption from the waiting period because they are disadvantaged and are, therefore, susceptible to mistreatment. Individuals from other provinces but who have moved into Ontario for long-term care are exempted from the three month waiting period as their condition does not allow them to wait for any single minute. Although this is not fair to other people who have to hold on, it is necessary. The populations of people exempted include children who cannot wait for a minute. Moreover, making refugees would lead to a breach of international law and thereby, bring about legal repercussions. Such reasons make it necessary to have exemptions.

References

Bobadilla, A. (2013). Oh, So We're Not Insured? Exploring The Impact of Ontario's Health Insurance Plan on New Permanent Residents and Healthcare Providers (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Western Ontario).Goel, R., Bloch, G., & Caulford, P. (2013). Waiting for care Effects of Ontarios 3-month waiting period for OHIP on landed immigrants. Canadian Family Physician, 59(6), e269-e275.