More for Southern Ontario but Northern Ontario Pays for it.
Premier Dalton McGuinty of Ontario knows where his bread is buttered.. At this rate he's going to be able to build his own wall. The latest is for his comment at the official announcement the province is dumping $1 billion (that's with a B) into an expansion of Highway 407. "The people of Southern Ontario will own this highway," McGuinty said. It's another example of how putting money into Northern Ontario is an expense, while putting money in the south is an investment.
Grits created money crisis in health care. McGuinty's government has been
chronically unable to rein in public-sector pay increases.The pay freeze the
government announced in 2010 is a sham.
Now the government is gearing up for its biggest battle — with the province's doctors.
While Health Minister Deb Matthews repeats the mantra that the average
doctor makes $350,000, the obvious response is why are the Liberals
surprised? They're the ones who hiked physicians' fees.
For eight years, the McGuinty government spent like drunken sailors. Now it has to rein in health spending — and it's doing so on the backs of doctors.
They're finding sneaky ways to nickel-and-dime them.
Family doctors are getting letters advising them they'll be on the hook for
payments for diagnostic tests they order that are later deemed medically
unnecessary. Physicians will be billed for lumbar spine X-rays, CT scans and MRIs that are later deemed medically unnecessary.Guess who really ill be paying for that expense. Extended billing next?
"The physician requesting the diagnostic services subsequently found not to be medically necessary in accordance with the Health Insurance Act will be responsible for repayment," the letter states.Imagine how that's going to impact care. What doctor is going to send a patient for a test if there's a chance they're going to end up getting dinged for it? Isn't that what tests are for — to find out if there's something wrong? Or are we only going to get tested when the doctor knows for sure what's wrong?
It's all about saving money, Austin said. "The ministry has run out of money to fund the increasing cost of health care and they're desperately looking for ways to cut the cost of health care in Ontario."
Family physicians are upset because the ministry is imposing new rules
without telling them how they'll be enforced. Just who's making the decisions about what's medically necessary and what's not?
If a doctor believes a test is medically necessary, should they get dinged by some faceless bureaucrat at Queen's Park who decides it's not? And are
patients best served by that system? I think we know the answer to that.
The cost? That $1 Billion for Southern Ontario Roads would go a long way to pay the Medical Cuts McGuinty has imposed.
Premier Dalton McGuinty of Ontario knows where his bread is buttered.. At this rate he's going to be able to build his own wall. The latest is for his comment at the official announcement the province is dumping $1 billion (that's with a B) into an expansion of Highway 407. "The people of Southern Ontario will own this highway," McGuinty said. It's another example of how putting money into Northern Ontario is an expense, while putting money in the south is an investment.
Grits created money crisis in health care. McGuinty's government has been
chronically unable to rein in public-sector pay increases.The pay freeze the
government announced in 2010 is a sham.
Now the government is gearing up for its biggest battle — with the province's doctors.
While Health Minister Deb Matthews repeats the mantra that the average
doctor makes $350,000, the obvious response is why are the Liberals
surprised? They're the ones who hiked physicians' fees.
For eight years, the McGuinty government spent like drunken sailors. Now it has to rein in health spending — and it's doing so on the backs of doctors.
They're finding sneaky ways to nickel-and-dime them.
Family doctors are getting letters advising them they'll be on the hook for
payments for diagnostic tests they order that are later deemed medically
unnecessary. Physicians will be billed for lumbar spine X-rays, CT scans and MRIs that are later deemed medically unnecessary.Guess who really ill be paying for that expense. Extended billing next?
"The physician requesting the diagnostic services subsequently found not to be medically necessary in accordance with the Health Insurance Act will be responsible for repayment," the letter states.Imagine how that's going to impact care. What doctor is going to send a patient for a test if there's a chance they're going to end up getting dinged for it? Isn't that what tests are for — to find out if there's something wrong? Or are we only going to get tested when the doctor knows for sure what's wrong?
It's all about saving money, Austin said. "The ministry has run out of money to fund the increasing cost of health care and they're desperately looking for ways to cut the cost of health care in Ontario."
Family physicians are upset because the ministry is imposing new rules
without telling them how they'll be enforced. Just who's making the decisions about what's medically necessary and what's not?
If a doctor believes a test is medically necessary, should they get dinged by some faceless bureaucrat at Queen's Park who decides it's not? And are
patients best served by that system? I think we know the answer to that.
The cost? That $1 Billion for Southern Ontario Roads would go a long way to pay the Medical Cuts McGuinty has imposed.
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