Vision is precious.  Most would say that it is the most important of all the human senses.  Except for the Ontario government, that is.

Since 1989, successive political parties in Ontario have refused to formally talk to optometrists about how to best deliver eye care in this province.  Despite inflation rising almost 80% since then, our fees have barely budged from $39.15 in 1989 to an average of $44.65 today.  This does not come close to covering the costs (rent, staff, utilities, equipment, taxes and supplies) to provide an eye exam, leaving optometrists to pay out of their own pockets to conduct OHIP-funded exams.  Worse still, Ontario’s legislation makes it illegal for optometrists to accept anything above what OHIP pays, meaning that a patient cannot even pay for an eye exam if they are OHIP-eligible.

As the Ontario government has put optometrists in this province in an unworkable situation, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from providing OHIP-funded examinations.  This prompted the government to offer an 8.48% increase, which is far below the 60% increase that would still leave us as the lowest fully funded province in Canada.

Optometrists in this province are proud to offer quality eye care to their patients, but we need your help.  If you value your vision, please let the government know that it needs to work with optometrists to find a way to provide sustainable eye care to people in Ontario.   Please contact MPP Mike Harris at mike.harrisco@pc.ola.org or (519) 669-2090 to let him know that you care about eye care, or visit www.SaveEyeCare.ca for more information.