Chiropractic Dilemma in Canada

Delisting chiropractic care will have devastating impact

    TORONTO, May 18, 2004 /CNW/ - The delisting of chiropractic 
services from OHIP
coverage will have a devastating impact on Ontario's health care 
system, both
in terms of reduced access to patient care and in the expected 200 
percent
increase in back and neck care treatment costs for over 1.2 million 
patients,
Dr. Dean J. Wright, president of the Ontario Chiropractic Association, 
said
today.
    "This decision not only dangerously erodes universal access to 
medicare
in Ontario, but it forces more than a million Ontarians to continue to 
live in
pain and see their health deteriorate," Wright said. "Then, when they 
must be
treated, the cost to the health system will skyrocket. It flies in the 
face of
the entire McGuinty government theme of promoting preventative 
community based
primary health care services."
    Wright says the OCA fears that the delisting is the "thin edge of 
the
wedge," leading to the possible end to universal access to quality 
health care
in Ontario, since more than 1.2 million Ontario patients who obtain
chiropractic treatment annually will no longer have access to care 
unless they
can afford it.
    "It's even more surprising, indeed shocking, that it's a Liberal
government that is chipping away at universal access to quality 
health care
for all Ontarians," Wright said. "Our members and our patients, in 
fact most
Ontarians, have always viewed the Liberal party as the protectors of 
universal
access to medicare in this country, and we implore Premier 
McGuinty in the
strongest possible terms to reconsider this decision."
    The government announcement comes despite the fact that the 
Liberal
government has held absolutely no consultation with either the 
chiropractic
profession or the people of the province. The people of the province 
were
never given the opportunity to express their views on public funding 
for
chiropractic, and the possibility of delisting was not raised in the 
election,
the pre-budget consultation or the Premier's Town-Hall meetings.
    The province now pays approximately $100 million to cover 
chiropractic
visits annually for 1.2 million Ontarians. But without that 
preventative and
early-intervention care for back and neck pain, many citizens will 
live with
the pain (because they cannot afford to seek treatment), leading to 
much
greater health problems. When other, more expensive, treatment for 
back pain
is substituted the annual cost to OHIP will exceed $200 million 
annually,
according to Dr. Pran Manga, PhD, Professor of Health Economics at 
the
University of Ottawa.
    Wright said the decision will also endanger Ontario's economy, 
since more
workers will face longer stretches of acute pain, will miss more 
time on the
job, and will cost their employers a loss of productivity and ability 
to
deliver 'on-time' products and services. Health Canada has estimated 
that
musculoskeletal disorders including back pain cost society $16.4 
billion in
combined direct (treatment and rehabilitation) and indirect (lost
productivity) costs.(1) Other studies have estimated the total cost 
of
musculoskeletal disorders at $25.6 billion with back and spine 
disorders
accounting for $8.1 billion.(2)
    "It doesn't add up," Wright said. "The OCA is prepared to work with 
the
government to find a solution to this issue, and to avoid causing 
millions of
patients to live with pain, to avoid damaging the provincial economy, 
and to
avoid heaping additional costs onto an already overburdened health 
care
system."
    Founded in 1929, the Ontario Chiropractic Association represents 
the
professional interests of more than 2,500 Ontario chiropractors. 
Chiropractic
is a regulated health care profession recognized by statute in all 
Canadian
provinces, and is one of the largest primary contact health care 
professions
in Canada. Every year approximately 4.5 million Canadians use 
chiropractic
services. Chiropractors provide diagnosis, treatment, and prevention 
of
disorders related to the spine, nervous system, and joints.

    ------------------------------------
    (1) Health Canada. Policy Research Division, Strategic Policy
        Directorate, Population and Public Health Branch. Economic 
Burden of
        Illness in Canada, 1998.
    (2) Cote P.C., et al. (1998). The Economic cost of musculoskeletal
        disorders in Canada. Arthritis Care Res. Oct; 11(5): 315-325, 
1998.



For further information: please contact: Janet Blanchard-Conn, 
Ontario 
Chiropractic Association, Tel (905) 629-8211 ext. 33, Toll Free 
(877) 327-2273, Web site www.chiropractic.on.ca