Health services valued at $83 million — ranging from outdated fertility tests to unnecessary earwax removal — are being delisted or restricted from OHIP coverage, the provincial government and a committee tasked with modernizing Ontario’s taxpayer-funded insurance plan have announced.Coverage for a total of 11 services will be affected as part of a major update to the OHIP Schedule of Benefits aimed at freeing up money for higher-value physician services, increasing access to those services and cutting wait-lists, reporters were told at a technical briefing by the committee at the Bloor St. offices of the Ontario Medical Association on Thursday.But the changes fall $37 million short of the $120 million in savings the committee, known as the “appropriateness working group,” had been mandated to make.The working group was created in February following an order by an arbitration panel that resolved a contract dispute between the province and the OMA, which is essentially the doctors’ union.The order gave the committee, led by two physicians, one from each organization, the mandate to “establish evidence-informed amendments to payments by eliminating or restricting inappropriate or overused physician services or physician payments.”The working group was directed to “achieve a settlement,” with changes totalling $120 million, by May 1 this year. And it was ordered to reach a second settlement by Sept. 30 this year for an additional $360 million in changes to take effect next year.If the committee cannot modernize the OHIP fee schedule as required, the arbitration board, chaired by veteran labour lawyer William Kaplan, will make the decisions, the order notes.The committee’s co-chairs dodged questions about the dollar value of the changes, and reporters were directed to the health ministry for answers. Travis Kann, director of communications for Health Minister Christine Elliott, confirmed both that the ...
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