The OHC notes that as funding is diverted from Ontario’s public hospitals to private clinics (predominantly for-profit), the most affluent people benefit at the expense of the majority of people.

According to Hurley, there’s also an evident divide in access to care since virtually all private clinics in Ontario are located in the wealthiest neighbourhoods of large urban centres where there is a sizable market of wealthier people who can afford to pay extra user fees.

That means rural areas and small towns like Midland don’t typically have private clinics, he notes.

Hurley also points to a study published last year by the Canadian Medical Association, which determined that privatization of cataract surgeries in Ontario correlated with increasing inequity in access to care.

According to the CMA report, the most affluent people increased access to care by 22 per cent while the most marginalized suffered a nine per cent decrease in surgical rates.

Hurley says that it’s essential for Ontario “to course-correct as soon as possible before the system is deeply fractured like in England” where restoring capacity and reducing inequalities would be expensive due to the extent of privatization.

Link to original article: https://www.villagereport.ca/village-picks/crisis-coming-prof-hopes-province-learns-from-englands-privatization-miscues-11544680