Have you or a loved one been charged for medical care at a private, for-profit clinic?
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- Published on Thursday, 20 November 2014 15:22
- Written by editor
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PAOV,
Private for-profit clinics are taking advantage of patients in B.C. Dozens of clinics are suspected of overcharging patients for medically necessary care.[1]
Not only is this unfair to patients, it’s against the law.
Instead of following laws that ensure Canadians receive health care based on need, not ability to pay, private for-profit clinics are trying to establish two-tier health care – and they’re hoping you won’t notice.
Now, a growing backlash against one private clinic’s legal attack on Canadian Medicare is pushing this issue front and centre.[2]
It’s time for us to speak up – many people don't realize the problems caused by profit-driven care until they hear from patients who have had a bad experience. That's where your story can help.
Have you been unlawfully billed at a private for-profit medical clinic?
Have you paid out-of-pocket to see a doctor at a private for-profit clinic because you were told you’d get faster care there than you would at the doctor's regular office?
Would you be willing to share your story with us?
You can choose to share your story anonymously or with your name attached. You can also tell us how you would like us to use your story - on our website, in social media or in news media.
Understandably, many patients decide not to share these experiences publicly. But, for those of us who are able to, it's hugely important to publicize these unlawful practices.
If enough of us share our personal experiences, we can add to the overwhelming evidence that shows for-profit care is bad for patients and for public health care.
Stories exposing the cost of for-profit care are powerful tools in the growing movement to protect patients and public health care from private for-profit clinics who break the law for profit. Will you share your story?
BC is ground zero for the expansion of private for-profit clinics in Canada. Doctors who self-refer patients to private for-profit clinics, where they also treat patients faster for a fee, are an increasing threat to fair and timely access to care.[3]
Cambie Surgery Centre, the Vancouver-based private for-profit clinic owned by Dr. Brian Day, is infamous for unlawfully billing patients for health care services.
A provincial audit of Day’s Cambie Surgery Centre and the affiliated Specialist Referral Clinic found that patients were unlawfully extra-billed $491,654 in just 30 days.
In one case, a Cambie patient was billed $7,215.00 for services that would have cost the public health care system (MSP) only $1,288.04. Auditors also found over $66,000 in overlapping claims – evidence that suggests double-dipping for the same services.[4]
Evidence from around the world shows that private for-profit clinics like Dr. Day’s do not relieve pressure on the public system; instead, they make wait times longer.
It is the BC government’s responsibility to ensure patients are protected from unlawful billing for hospital and physician care. Thanks to you, we’ve got their attention.[5]
Now we need to speak out to demand that our government enforce its own laws to protect patients and our public health care system.
Patients deserve better. Share your story today.
With gratitude for your dedication to public health care,
Edith MacHattie
BC Health Coalition co-chair
P.S. Next week is National Medicare Week. Let's take this opportunity to call out unlawful billing in B.C.'s private for profit clinics.
Sources:[1] “Eroding Public Medicare: Update on for-profit health care in BC”, BC Health Coalition
[2] Globe and Mail, September 29, 2014
[3] “Eroding Public Medicare: Update on for-profit health care in BC”, BC Health Coalition
[4] Medical Services Commission Audit Report 2012
[5] BC Health Coalition email, October 31, 2014 Follow on Twitter Friend on Facebook Copyright © 2014 BC Health Coalition, All rights reserved.
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