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TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Patients who have been wrongfully charged for surgeries and diagnostic tests at private clinics were joined by more than 160 supporters at the Ontario Legislature today for a “Day of Action” to demand answers and action.
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When he announced his government’s plans to vastly expand privatization of Ontario’s public hospitals’ surgeries and diagnostic tests, Premier Ford said that no patient would ever have to pay with their credit card, only their OHIP card. When asked if patients would have to pay anything if they had surgery at a private clinic, he swore it would be “100 per cent” covered. “We’re never gonna waver from that”.
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Such extra-billing and user fees are banned under the Canada Health Act and Ontario’s Public Medicare protection laws, yet increasingly, the private clinics are charging patients with impunity, the Ontario Health Coalition reports.
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In June, the Ontario Health Coalition sent a formal letter to the Minister of Health and to the Ministry with formal complaints from fifty patients who had been charged for care in private clinics. To date, not a single patient among those who made the complaints reports having been contacted to investigate their complaint.
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Bruce Awad was charged more than $1,000 for extra tests and lenses when he went for cataract surgery at a private clinic in Windsor. He was one of the patients included in the formal complaint to the Minister in June. “I am very upset that the government has not tried to contact me to investigate about this complaint,” he said. “The complaint is serious. I am alleging that the government has misled us, lied to us about not having to pay for health care in Ontario, and I had to pay significantly. I think the government has to be held accountable for this.”
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“Usually, in any type of complaint with a government or organization, somebody investigates the complaint to verify the validity of it. But nothing has been done and it seems like they don’t care. It seems like they think I’m going to forget about it or go away,” he continued. “But $1,100 is not something I’m going to forget. Especially when Doug Ford, on national television, said almost word-for-word that Ontarians won’t have to pay with their credit card, only their OHIP card. That’s a lie…. I’m just not going to go away and forget about the money I had to spend. I’m going to fight this until I get justice.”
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Dr. James Deutsch’s wife was charged $7,850 for cataract surgery at a private clinic in Toronto. He is also one of the people who made the formal complaint to the Ministry in June and he has never been contacted for an investigation. His wife Judith passed away in April and Dr. Deutsch made the complaint on her behalf. “I believe that they took advantage of her desperate situation and convinced her to opt for a more expensive lens and type of procedure for each eye. She was scared to go walking outside. She was not in a position to question,” he said. “Having the profit incentive and leeway to charge more for a procedure can lead to situations like this, of selling services that are not necessary.”
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