The Ontario Ministry of Health says there have been no cuts in blood tests covered in the provinces in recent years, following a series of viral posts on social media in which people said they were has been charged for laboratory work.
In a statement issued this week, the ministry said that since 2017, there have been no laboratory tests removed from the OHIP benefit list for laboratory services.
“The Medicare Future Commitment Act (CFMA) prohibits charges by any person or entity for insured services or access to insured services,” the statement said.
He goes on to say that if a patient considers that a service that is insured has been charged, they can call the CFMA program reporting line at 1-888-662-6613 or send an email. protectpublichealthcare@ontario.ca.
Most of the routine lab tests ordered by doctors in the province are covered by the OHIP, but there are certain tests that do not fall under this umbrella that patients have to pay out of pocket.
Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, told CBC News in an interview that her organization has been “absolutely flooded” with calls and messages about the issue for the past week.
However, when the coalition investigated, they did not find any legitimate reports of people having to pay out of pocket due to the withdrawal of evidence from the OHIP. Instead, he said, the tests ended up being for things that weren’t actually completely covered, or there were changes in charges that weren’t properly explained to patients.
In the end, “there is no evidence” that the province will make the changes to the coverage of evidence that is alleged online, Mehra said.
“We would be the first to defend if there were, but there just aren’t any,” he said.
To be sure, Mehra said he also spoke with several oncologists, as well as family doctors and chiefs of staff at two Ontario hospitals. None of them knew that the lab tests they had requested for their patients would be removed from the list. Similarly, no one could trace any kind of note that marks a change, which would normally be the case in a situation like this.
“I think it’s just a rumor spreading,” he said.
The laboratory testing company Lifelabs, which says it manages laboratory testing services for more than 50,000 patients a day in Ontario, said similarly in a statement that the province controls which tests are covered by the OHIP. and that “no laboratory test has been withdrawn.” (i.e. removed without proof of replacement) in the last five years.
“LifeLabs cannot bill individuals with OHIP coverage for OHIP-covered testing,” the statement said.