Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, is shown in a scene from the second season of "Breaking Bad." THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, AMC, Ursula Coyote
January 13, 2014 - 6:12 AM
TORONTO - The CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital in southwestern Ontario is urging the provincial government to provide people with a summary of their annual charges to the health insurance plan.
David Musyj (MOO'-shay) says Ontario spends nearly $50 billion a year on health care, but people really have "no clue" on how much is spent on their individual care.
Musyj says people should get a summary of all of their Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) charges on an annual basis, or when they leave hospital, which he predicts would be an "eye-opening" experience for many.
The Ministry of Health warns there would be "significant new costs" to implement a system to provide patients with a summary of their OHIP usage, which it says would take money away from frontline care.
But Musyj says people should be able to log onto a website and see exactly how much was charged to OHIP for their care, information he says is already available.
NDP health critic France Gelinas loves the idea of giving people access to their own OHIP information on a website, but says giving patients a physical statement of expenses would be a waste of time and money.
The Progressive Conservatives also say the idea of patient statements has merit.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014