The negotiations between the provincial government and Ontario optometrists are still ongoing and either side has yet to come to an agreement.
These negotiations have left millions of children and seniors without proper OHIP-insured eye care, as all 2,500 optometrists across Ontario stopped providing OHIP-insured eye care on September 1 as a form of a strike against the government.
Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong, brought forward the impacts these negotiations have had on Indigenous children and seniors in his riding at the Ontario Legislative Assembly in a Question Period with Minister of Health Christine Elliott earlier this week.
“Right now, parents across Kiiwetinoong can’t get their children the eye care they need because this government won’t negotiate a fair deal with the optometrists. Will this government fund the optometrist's services that our kids need and deserve?” asked Mamakwa.
He also shared some facts regarding common vision problems within Indigenous children from Dr. Kourosh Sabri, McMaster Children's Hospital Pediatric Ophthalmologist.
“More than a third of Indigenous children have farsightedness, more than three times higher than non-Indigenous children,” explained Mamakwa. “Research also shows that Indigenous children experience very high levels of astigmatism and corrective refractive error.”
Elliott responded by reassuring the Assembly that the government is not withholding these services.
“It’s simply that the optometrists have decided that they are not going to provide them. We are ready, willing, and able to return to the mediation table to discuss the issues optometrists have. There’s no question that they were not fairly dealt with by the previous government.”
The government has offered a one-time payment of $39 million that would cover a retroactive period over the last decade. This payment will be made before an agreement is even reached.
Along with that, the government also offered an immediate OHIP fee increase of 8.48 per cent, retroactive to April 1, 2021. This fee increase is a “catch up” fee that is calculated to reflect similar increases applied to physicians over the past decade.
However, the Ontario Association of Optometrists says an eye exam costs an optometrist $80 per patient in staff wages and equipment, but they’re only being reimbursed about $44 per exam by OHIP. Ontario’s $39 million offer to the association works out to another $1 per exam, which was turned down by the union.
Doctors have shared concerns with Mamakwa about the high incidents of eye disease and the extra care needed in the Kiiwetinoong region.
“People in Kiiwetinoong are among the sickest in Canada. Elders and seniors right across the north need regular eye care exams because of the diseases they have. Because of COVID and now this they have been waiting for two years now. Why does this government say no when it comes to ensuring everyone can access essential eye and vision care they need,” concluded Mamakwa.
The provincial government says they fully recognize the eye care needed for Indigenous children and seniors is vital, and want to come back to the table with the optometrists.
“You can’t negotiate if there’s only one party there, we are ready to go there, we have agreed with the mediator's requirements for considering going back into mediation, we want to do that, we want to address the issues from the past,” explained Elliott.
There hasn’t been any further information provided regarding future discussions between the Ontario Association of Optometrists and the provincial government.
Provincial laws prevent anyone from paying for an OHIP-insured service, even out of their own pocket or if you have your own insurance plan, meaning these services are now unavailable until further notice.