A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times. We asked that her file be reviewed by OHIP’s eligibility committee, which determined that …
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A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times.
The Right To Be Impatient
The to be OMBUDSMAN REPORT A N D R É M A R I N | O M B U D S M A N O F O N T A R I O | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 5 Whether the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has failed to properly administer Newborn Screening in Ontario. …
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Investigation into whether the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has failed to properly administer newborn screening in Ontario.
Testicular implants for boys: A Medical Necessity
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term care restored funding for testicular prosthesis surgery for boys under 18. Because the issue was resolved, no report was published. … Testicular implants for boys: A Medical …
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The Ministry of Health and Long-Term care restored funding for testicular prosthesis surgery for boys under 18.
Out-of-country cancer care: The Out-of-Country Conundrum
The Ministry of Health overhauled its out-of-country care program and paid $75,000 to a chemotherapy patient who was wrongly denied coverage. No report was issued. Case update - 2007-2008 Annual report When Suzanne Aucoin came to the Ombudsman’s Office in 2007, she was fighting two battles: She was …
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The Ministry of Health overhauled its out-of-country care program and paid $75,000 to a chemotherapy patient who was wrongly denied coverage.
OHIP: The Difference a Few Days Make
Coverage was granted to a 94-year-old man who moved back to Ontario from the U.S. and broke his hip 38 days before his Ontario health insurance eligibility was to take effect. No report issued. … OHIP: The Difference a Few Days …
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Coverage was granted to a 94-year-old man who moved back to Ontario from the U.S. and broke his hip 38 days before his Ontario health insurance eligibility was to take effect.
Assistive Devices: Life and Breath
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care agreed to fund the home use of oxygen saturation monitors for children with life-threatening respiratory conditions, and to review the entire Assistive Devices Program. No report was issued. Case update - Annual report 2007-2008 In February 2007, SORT was …
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The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care agreed to fund the home use of oxygen saturation monitors for children with life-threatening respiratory conditions, and to review the entire Assistive Devices Program.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) program
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced funding for Positron Emission Tomography scans for certain indications in the wake of this investigation of the Ministry's process for evaluating the technology, and practices in other provinces. Because the issue was resolved, no report was …
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Investigation into the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s administration of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) program.
A Vast Injustice
Investigation into the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s decision-making concerning the funding of Avastin for colorectal cancer patients OMBUDSMAN REPORT • André Marin, Ombudsman Of Ontario • September 2009 https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Resources/Reports/A-Vast-Injustice.aspx?lang=en-CA …
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Investigation into the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s decision-making concerning the funding of Avastin for colorectal cancer patients.
Dental implants
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care agreed to fund dental implants for a 55-year-old cancer patient who required extensive reconstructive facial surgery. The Ministry also acknowledged that there may be others in such exceptional circumstances and undertook to address the gap in the system to …
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The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care agreed to fund dental implants for a 55-year-old cancer patient who required extensive reconstructive facial surgery.
Long-term care
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care incorporated the Ombudsman’s suggestions in its ongoing upgrade of its monitoring of long-term care facilities after he identified serious systemic problems. Since the Ministry’s efforts are “a work in progress,” in lieu of a report, the Ombudsman released …
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The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care incorporated the Ombudsman’s suggestions in its ongoing upgrade of its monitoring of long-term care facilities after he identified serious systemic problems.
Going the distance
The owner of a home for adults with mental health issues contacted the Ombudsman, frustrated that he couldn’t get ODSP or Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) to provide funding to take one of his residents to her cancer treatments. The resident wasn’t capable of travelling to the treatments by …
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The owner of a home for adults with mental health issues contacted the Ombudsman, frustrated that he couldn’t get ODSP or Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) to provide funding to take one of his residents to her cancer treatments.
Pearly rights
A woman whose teeth had been damaged as a result of physical abuse by her partner years earlier contacted the Ombudsman for help in obtaining funds to have them fixed. In 2009, she had been awarded $20,000 in compensation for pain and suffering by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, which …
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A woman whose teeth had been damaged as a result of physical abuse by her partner years earlier contacted the Ombudsman for help in obtaining funds to have them fixed.
Handling with care
The aunt and uncle of a 16-year-old boy with Down Syndrome needed help finding the boy a place to live after his mother died of cancer. They were concerned that they would not be able to care for him because they lived 270 kilometres away, both worked odd hours, and, due to their age, wouldn’t be …
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The aunt and uncle of a 16-year-old boy with Down Syndrome needed help finding the boy a place to live after his mother died of cancer. They were concerned that they would not be able to care for him because they lived 270 kilometres away, both worked odd hours, and, due to their age, wouldn’t be able to look after him on a long-term basis.
Rehab reset
A mother complained to the Ombudsman after she was forced to pay $7,000 for a spot for her adult daughter in a residential treatment program for women with substance abuse issues. The daughter was just two days into the five-week program when a spot became available that was publicly funded through …
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A mother complained to the Ombudsman after she was forced to pay $7,000 for a spot for her adult daughter in a residential treatment program for women with substance abuse issues.
Overbill overkill
A farmer was concerned about the high electricity bills he received for the first six months of 2014, even though his corn dryer – the machine on his farm using the highest amount of electricity – wasn’t in use. His bills were close to $9,000, including $843 in delivery charges on $112 worth of …
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A farmer was concerned about the high electricity bills he received for the first six months of 2014, even though his corn dryer – the machine on his farm using the highest amount of electricity – wasn’t in use. His bills were close to $9,000, including $843 in delivery charges on $112 worth of electricity.
Electrifying error
A woman was frustrated and confused by a dramatic increase in her electricity bills after her meter was changed in August 2013 – from $244 that July, to $403 in August, and up to $1,700 in January 2014. She said Hydro One was unable to provide her with an explanation for the increases, other than …
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A woman was frustrated and confused by a dramatic increase in her electricity bills after her meter was changed in August 2013 – from $244 that July, to $403 in August, and up to $1,700 in January 2014.
Excruciating wait
An inmate had been waiting for months to have a wisdom tooth extracted and was in severe pain, to the point where he had fainted and had to be sent to hospital. Ombudsman staff contacted the facility, but were unable to resolve the issue until it was escalated to a senior manager at the Ministry. …
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An inmate had been waiting for months to have a wisdom tooth extracted and was in severe pain, to the point where he had fainted and had to be sent to hospital.
No time to lose
An inmate was told after a colonoscopy that he likely had bowel cancer and would need surgery immediately – within a week. However, the jail’s doctor told him the facility had no paperwork from the specialist, and it would be up to four weeks before he could even get an appointment for surgery. …
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An inmate was told after a colonoscopy that he likely had bowel cancer and would need surgery immediately – within a week. However, the jail’s doctor told him the facility had no paperwork from the specialist, and it would be up to four weeks before he could even get an appointment for surgery.
New drug, new hope
After a woman was denied funding for a drug to treat neuropathic pain, her husband came to the Ombudsman for help. The woman has a rare neurological disease and her condition, which is considered palliative, means she has considerable muscle and nerve pain. One of the drugs that helped her pain, …
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After a woman was denied funding for a drug to treat neuropathic pain, her husband came to the Ombudsman for help. The woman has a rare neurological disease and her condition, which is considered palliative, means she has considerable muscle and nerve pain. One of the drugs that helped her pain, Sativex, was only approved for patients with multiple sclerosis, or palliative cancer patients with refractory pain.
Lost in the mail
A 62-year-old woman with Crohn’s disease required infusions every eight weeks at a cost of $4,542.76 per treatment. The woman’s private insurance covered 80% of the costs, while the Trillium Drug Program reimbursed her for the remainder, but she was reaching the lifetime maximum for her private …
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A 62-year-old woman with Crohn’s disease required infusions every eight weeks at a cost of $4,542.76 per treatment. The woman’s private insurance covered 80% of the costs, while the Trillium Drug Program reimbursed her for the remainder, but she was reaching the lifetime maximum for her private insurance coverage and it was about to end.