OHIP billings escape scrutiny.
Today’s big headline by one of the dailies here regarding the absence of audit of Ontario Physicians and other medical practitioners of their billlings. According to the STAR "http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1161381024262&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home .The annual billings increased from $5 billions to $5.7.
The billings audit was frozen two years ago by the Liberal Government of Premier Mcquinty, after the old system was scrapped and supposed to be replaced by the one submitted by former supreme Court Justice Peter Cory who gave the province a highly touted road map for a new physician audit program — hailed by Ontario doctors for its fairness — the McGuinty government has yet to implement what Cory insists is needed to guard the "public trust."
The old auditing system came under fire with the suicide of one of the doctors, upon being audited and ordered to re-imburse the province for extra-billings. The physician’s family blamed the billing system as too complicated, that most doctors have no time of taking much attention to understand its complexities. The Minister of health then asked former Supreme Court Justice Peter Cory to review the billings and audit systems and submit a road map. And the Liberal government is sitting on the Road Map while doctors are billing the taxpayers without any scrutiny at all.
And what are the oppositions doing in the house, that it took the Star to let the public know about this issue? Critics say medical practices in Ontario are operating like a road with no traffic cop.
"You have to have speed limits. If you never enforce speed limits, people will speed," says Dr. Hirotaka Yamashiro, chairman of the Ontario Medical Association Section on Pediatrics.
Well, maybe if this new Audit will find its way to the book, we can look forward for the next government (provincial election due next fall) dropping the $25. Monthly premium in our OHIP- again. What do you say?. Well, will never know who’s going to be the Premier by next fall.
Note: The $25.00 monthly premium is assessed and calculated and paid with the Tax returns. It accounts less than 5% of the total budget and exemptions to those of low income and social assitance recipients, children and seniors are applied.
