To: Ontario Chiropractic Association Members From: Dr. Dean Wright, President Date: May 6, 2004 Re: OHIP funding at risk - Immediate Action required The government may decide in the next few days to de-list chiropractic services from OHIP. Your immediate action is required. You must do this ASAP. Putting this off will jeopardize our collective efforts. Please make this your focus for the next few days. Background On May 18th, the Liberal Government will deliver its first Provincial Budget. In the context of a forecast deficit of $5.6 Billion for 2003/2004, the budget is expected to be one of austerity with many dramatic measures. The provinces are not required by the Canada Health Act to provide chiropractic services. This is why coverage varies across the country. As we have seen in other provinces, this also means that when governments are looking to reduce spending, reduction in expenditures on chiropractic services is often considered. For some time, the OCA has been emphasizing to government the value that chiropractic brings to patients, to the health care system, and to the Province. We have been seeking confirmation that the Ontario government will not eliminate or reduce OHIP funding for chiropractic services. We have, to date, not received that assurance. It is not possible to accurately assess the risk, but there is most certainly a significant risk that the government will reduce or eliminate OHIP funding for chiropractic, optometry, physiotherapy and podiatry services in the May 18, 2004 budget. Final government decisions on budget content will not likely be made until late next week, so there is a short window of opportunity to influence the decision. The government needs to hear the message that chiropractic services are important to the people of Ontario. They need to hear it at all levels. The OCA has been working at Queen廣 Park, and has mobilized allies including the private insurance, business and other sectors. However, the most influential level is the individual MPP, particularly Liberal MPPs, representing the voters in his or her riding. Those MPPs need to hear from chiropractors, and more importantly from patients, in their riding. Two Action Steps Required A. Speak to your MPP Regardless of the MPP廣 party, call your MPP廣 constituency office and ask for an urgent, 10 minute telephone appointment to discuss OHIP funding. Be sure that whoever answers the phone knows the issue you want to discuss. This can be both the MPP where you live and where you practice if they are different. See the attached list of MPPs and ridings. If you do not know your riding, you can find this (search by postal code), and the MPP contact information on the internet at http://www.electionsontario.on.ca/. If you need help with this, contact the OCA office at (905) 629-8211 or 1-877-327-2273. On your call to the MPP, deliver the key messages outlined below. >From Liberal MPPs, seek their assurance that they support continued funding and will take this message forward to caucus and Cabinet. Also seek their commitment to communicate with you when they learn whether elimination of funding is still under consideration. >From opposition MPPs (Conservative and NDP) seek their support for continued funding and ask them for their commitment to bring the issue to their caucus. Your Key Messages: You and your patients are extremely concerned that government may eliminate funding for chiropractic services. Over 1.2 million Ontarians use chiropractic services every year. They consider this an important part of their health care and rely on these services - and OHIP funding - in order to function. They expect continued access to chiropractic services. They would view elimination of chiropractic services as breaking the promise not to reduce universal access to health care. If this happens, what is next? Government spends only $95 million on chiropractic services (less than 0.4% of the Health budget). Eliminating this coverage, where the patient pays part of the cost, will end up costing the government far more in additional physician, emergency department and hospital visits. Most patients do not have any other insurance that pays for chiropractic, so they rely on OHIP. B. Ask Patients to call the MPP In the next few days, ask at least 20 patients to call the constituency office to speak to the MPP about chiropractic. Write down the MPP廣 name and phone number for the selected patients. The MPP will not likely be available when they call, so they should ask that the MPP return the call. They may end up speaking only to the MPP廣 staff. Regardless of where your office is located, have patients call the MPP in the riding in which they live. If possible have patients call directly from your office to make sure the calls take place. The most effective patients will be those that are members of a political party and have connections to the MPP or riding association. If you have such patients, use them, particularly if they are affiliated with the Liberal Party. DO NOT go to the press or public. At this time it is more appropriate to focus our approach on MPPs through patients. DO NOT activate all your patients. It will be counterproductive to simply "flood" the MPP with so many calls that they cannot be dealt with. The MPP needs to hear from a reasonable number of thoughtful, articulate patients, from their riding, who rely on chiropractic and on OHIP and will be extremely upset with the government if OHIP funding is eliminated. When the patients call the MPP廣 office they should: a. Tell the MPP they have heard that OHIP funding for chiropractic services will be eliminated. b. Explain, in their own words, that they are opposed to this and what it will mean for them. This is not an onerous request. The OCA would not ask you to undertake this effort if it was not critical. Please do your part. Thank you for your assistance!