A new report by CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) suggests that privatizing hospital services continues to result in longer wait times and unequal access based on wealth.
At a news conference in Belleville Monday, OCHU-CUPE representatives noted that despite provincial funding to enable the privatization of cataract surgeries over the past five years, the number of surgeries performed on time has decreased from 72 per cent in 2020 to 66 per cent in 2024.
CUPE researcher Doug Allan says the union is also concerned about unequal access to care in private clinics, drawing attention to findings of a 2024 Canadian Medical Association Journal study showing that surgical rates in private clinics increased by 22 per cent for the wealthiest Ontarians while declining for everyone else.
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“But for the rest of us, the 80 per cent, there actually was a decline in the amount of cataract surgeries that were provided. The worst decline was among the lowest income earners, but there was a decline in every quintile.”
In Hastings and Prince Edward counties, Allan says a sizable piece of the population is disadvantaged due to privatization.
Audio Player“130,000 people in the Hastings and Prince Edward County area would see their access decline through this introduction of for-profit cataract surgery.”
He did note that about 30,000 people could see an improvement in their service times for cataract surgeries.
The union’s concerns with privatization go beyond just paying out of pocket for a surgery.
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“The Ontario Health Coalition has done extensive research detailing how the private, for-profit clinics charge extra fees, how they upsell. You know, all sorts of extra charges which are not payable by the bulk of people.”
Allan notes in hospitals, service levels for all people remained about the same.
But there are concerns that further privatization will hurt lower class citizens more.
He says the government’s most recent budget allocated $280 million for more privatization.
The money will allow private clinics to perform orthopedic surgeries and other procedures but OCHU-CUPE has little faith that will lead to improvements in wait times.
In addition to their concerns, the union says a new poll shows nearly three in four Ontarians want the provincial government to prioritize spending on public hospitals instead of private clinics.
The Nanos poll was conducted between May 27 and June 1, surveying 1,017 Ontarians over the age of 18.
The results show:
• 67% say it’s unacceptable for private clinics to charge patients for medically necessary services
• 73% say government must prioritize spending on public health care, not private clinics
• 84% say there’s not enough staff in public hospitals
• 72% agree with the CMAJ study results that privatization will negatively impact access to care for the poorest peopleAllan says those survey results reinforce their concerns about the introduction of for-profit care and their belief that the government needs to focus instead on building the public hospital system.
• 67% say it’s unacceptable for private clinics to charge patients for medically necessary services
• 73% say government must prioritize spending on public health care, not private clinics
• 84% say there’s not enough staff in public hospitals
• 72% agree with the CMAJ study results that privatization will negatively impact access to care for the poorest peopleAllan says those survey results reinforce their concerns about the introduction of for-profit care and their belief that the government needs to focus instead on building the public hospital system.
He adds they don’t understand why the Ford government wants to introduce American-style healthcare when the results are inadequate.
Audio Player“We don’t think it’s a good public policy. We don’t think the results are effective. We think it’s becoming increasingly clear that the for-profit system that exists in America, the overwhelmingly for-profit system that exists in America is a failure.”
OCHU-CUPE represents 50,000 hospital and long-term care staff in Ontario.
