Hello Ontario - Goodbye HMOs

Health reform is a hot debate right now and in Ontario we are proud to offer the universal health-care system. Here are some of the key benefits Ontario citizens and physicians enjoy:

Universal Health Coverage
The 1964 Canada Health Act gave ALL Canadians access to health care without charge for medically necessary hospital and physician services. For physicians, this means the freedom to practice medicine the way you want without HMO approval.

Progressive Funding Models
Ontario strives to ensure everyone in the province has access to a family doctor. That’s because primary care is an integral component of Ontario’s medical system. In the U.S., for example, only 30% of visits to specialists occur through referrals, compared to 90% in Ontario.₁

Ontario offers a variety of compensation models and business options, including:

• Patient-based funding for primary care
• Interdisciplinary care, group or networked practices
• The ability to incorporate, and
• Preventative and comprehensive care incentives.

Low Administrative Costs
In the U.S., physicians average 142 hours a year working with health plans. This costs physician practices an estimated $31 billion, or $68,274 on average per physician, per year.₂ In Ontario, there is only one central billing agency (single state funded insurer): the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Physicians bill and are reimbursed 98% of their billings through this agency. This gives physicians the freedom to practice medicine the way they want, without insurance or hospital approval.

Low malpractice rates
Malpractice fees in Ontario are considerably less expensive than in the U.S. For example (approximately per year):

• Family medicine: $650-$1500 in Ontario₃
• Psychiatry: $3600 in Ontario₄

Malpractice fees have stayed low because of government subsidy and the fact that Canada is not a litigious country. This means physicians do not practice defensively but rather, how they see fit.

Fast Facts…. they speak for themselves

Country	Health Expenditure (% of GDP in 2010)	Obesity (adults)	Life Expectancy	Infant Mortality (per 1000 live births)
Canada	10.4%	24.2%	80.7 years	5.1 deaths
United States	16%	33.3%	77.9 years	6.7 deaths

₅

1 New England Journal of Medicine, "Patient-Centered Medical Homes in Ontario", 2010
2 Health Affairs, "What Does It Cost a Physician to Interact with Health Insurance Plans?" 2009
3 Canadian Medical Protective Association. "2007 Type of Work Codes and Fees by Region", 2007.
4 Canadian Medical Protective Association. "2007 Type of Work Codes and Fees by Region", 2007.
5 Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. "OECD Health Data, How Does Canada Compare?", 2010