One third of Ontarians would go abroad for treatment: study
August 22, 2008
Staff Reporter
Most Ontarians trust the healthcare system to look after them, but more than a third would consider paying or traveling to another country for faster treatment, a series of Star polls reveals.
Nearly three-quarters of Ontarians – 72 per cent – said they are moderately or very confident they’ll get the help they need from doctors and hospitals if they fall ill, according to online surveys performed for the Star by Angus Reid.
Yet more than a third said they would pay out of pocket for speedier medical treatment.
Some would even take drastic measures to get faster care: 43 per cent of Ontario residents and 46 per cent in the GTA said they would consider traveling abroad to skip the inevitable long delays and waiting lists for certain services.
The shortage of doctors and nurses topped the list of concerns for respondents, followed by long wait times.
It’s nothing new for health advocates, who say those issues affect most industrialized countries with public health care.
"This echoes what we’ve heard for years and years in the healthcare system," said Natalie Mehta of the Ontario Health Coalition, a grassroots network of health activist groups throughout the province.
"It also points out something really key for the provincial government: the biggest problem, bar none, is shortages," which lead to lengthy wait times, she said.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty three years ago pledged to reduce wait times in five areas: hip replacements, knee replacements, cataract surgery, radiation oncology and cardiac services.
The province has come close to meeting its targets and even cut some waiting times by more than 50 per cent, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
But the ministry admits there’s still room for improvement, particularly when it comes to wait times for MRI and CT scans. Despite a government push to purchase new equipment, there can be lags of up to 231 for the former and 72 days for the latter, according to the ministry’s wait times tracker.
The government’s targets are a maximum of four weeks waiting time for the common exams, used to detect a variety of conditions such as head injuries and cancer.
A spokesperson for the ministry said the government is committed to providing quality medical care at no cost. "We promise Ontarians full access to healthcare without asking them to pay for it," he said.
Mehta said those with urgent medical needs usually receive prompt treatment, while people in pain or seeking elective surgeries face long delays. But she doesn’t see medical tourism – the term for seeking treatment abroad – taking off in Ontario, despite a few companies nationwide that cater to that market.
"What’s notable is that people have unrealistic notions of what it would cost to pay for treatment abroad," she said, noting that a single MRI scan can cost upwards of $1,000. "The actual costs for catastrophic healthcare - the only kind you’d really want to pay for - are out of the means for three-quarters of Ontarians."
The median individual income for the province was $23,900 in 2006, according to Statistics Canada.
The Star surveys were conducted earlier this month using a randomly selected, statistically representative sample of 803 adult Ontario residents.