May 2004

Ontario delists chiropractic as healthcare benefit

In provincial action on May 18, the Ontario Liberal government eliminated chiropractic services from its budget.

According to the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA), Canadian provinces are not required by the Canada Health Act to provide chiropractic services. OCA anticipates that delisting chiropractic services will have a devastating impact on Ontario's healthcare system, both in terms of reduced access to patient care and in the expected 200 percent increase in back and neck care treatment costs for over 1.2 million patients,

Dr. Dean J. Wright, president of the Ontario Chiropractic Association, said, "This decision not only dangerously erodes universal access to medicare in Ontario, but it forces more than a million Ontarians to continue to live in pain and see their health deteriorate. Then, when they must be treated, the cost to the health system will skyrocket.”

Wright says the OCA fears that the delisting is the "thin edge of the wedge," leading to the possible end to universal access to quality healthcare in Ontario, since more than 1.2 million Ontario patients who obtain chiropractic treatment annually will no longer have access to care unless they can afford it.

"It's even more surprising, indeed shocking, that it's a Liberal government that is chipping away at universal access to quality healthcare for all Ontarians," Wright said. "Our members and our patients, in fact most Ontarians, have always viewed the Liberal party as the protectors of universal access to medicare in this country, and we implore Premier McGuinty in the strongest possible terms to reconsider this decision."

According to OCA, the government made the decision to delist chiropractic care, although the it did not consult with either the chiropractic profession nor the people of the province.

Ontario now pays approximately $100 million to cover chiropractic visits annually for 1.2 million Ontarians. OCA reports that Dr. Pran Manga, PhdD, professor of health economics at the University of Ottawa, projects that other treatment for back pain substituted for chiropractic will exceed $200 million annually.

"The OCA is prepared to work with the government to find a solution to this issue, and to avoid causing millions of patients to live with pain, to avoid damaging the provincial economy, and to avoid heaping additional costs onto an already overburdened healthcare system," said Wright.

Chiropractic is a regulated healthcare profession recognized by statute in all Canadian provinces. According to OCA, it is one of the largest primary contact healthcare professions in Canada. Every year approximately 4.5 million Canadians use chiropractic services. Chiropractors provide diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders related to the spine, nervous system, and joints.

Sources: Ontario Chiropractic Association, www.chiropractic.on.ca; CNW, http://www.cnw.ca/

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