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Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
‘There is something wrong': Patients say they are paying out of pocket for cataract surgeries at private clinics
It all started at the optometrist. Stephen Purdey was at a regular checkup to update his prescription last summer when his optometrist flagged something in his eye. The optometrist thought it was cataracts, but recommended Purdey visit an ophthalmologist to confirm. So Purdey visited a private clinic in Toronto in March for a consultation after months on the wait-list to see a specialist, and that is where he said he started to feel 'vulnerable and susceptible.' 'Because of the combination of wanting to do the best thing for yourself,' said Purdey, who is in his 70s. 'Plus not necessarily understanding everything that the doctors are telling you, you really are as a patient vulnerable to suggestions.' 'And that's what happened to me.' The ophthalmologist he was referred to, according to Purdey, acknowledged that the patient could get his procedure done for free under OHIP. Cataract surgery is considered a 'medically necessary surgery' by the province, so even if a person opts to go to a private clinic they shouldn't be billed for the basic OHIP-covered procedure. Patients who spoke to the Star said they went in for cataract surgery at private clinics and felt they had to pay between a couple of hundred and thousands of dollars out of pocket, whether to bypass reportedly long wait times or receive better treatment, including upgraded lenses. Their stories come at a time when the provincial government continues to expand the number of privately run surgical and diagnostic centres performing cataract procedures, a move first announced two years ago. They also raise questions about whether there are sufficient guardrails in place to make sure patients don't feel pressured to pay out of pocket for upgrades they may not need. In Purdey's case, he said his ophthalmologist offered him other options, such as laser-based eye measurements, instead of a free ultrasound measurement, and 'better quality' corrective lenses — treatments that would cost money but, to Purdey, sounded appealing. 'Right away you have the impression that lasers are better than ultrasound,' he said of the measurement procedure. 'And they said, 'Yeah, that's true.'' Laser-based measurements have been found to be more accurate than an ultrasound, although the American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that there does not appear to be a difference between using a laser or ultrasound during the cataract surgery itself. Purdey was convinced, however, so he agreed to spend $650 on the laser measurements and an astigmatism test and said he'd consider paying another $200 to $1,600 for the so-called better lenses, then went home. The four patients who spoke to the Star for this story are older adults who were worried that they might forever damage their vision if they didn't get surgery for their cataracts. Some of these same patients also said they didn't think they were given all the information they needed to make a decision about whether to pay for so-called better measurements and lenses. 'It is really out of control,' said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), an advocacy group focused on protecting public health care. 'Essentially it's like there isn't public medicare when it comes to eye surgery in Ontario,' says Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, an advocacy group focused on protecting public health care. 'It's gone.' Things have gotten so bad from the perspective of the OHC that the group is filing formal complaints with the provincial and federal governments next week, Mehra said. She said some private clinics around the province bill OHIP for medically necessary cataract surgeries, as they are allowed to, but also charge patients 'mandatory' user fees for things like eye measurements or the surgery itself in a practice known as extra-billing — which is illegal under Ontario law and a breach of the Canada Health Act. Extra-billing also includes charging patients for speedier care. Mehra noted that the onus to report extra-billing to the province is on patients, many of whom do not realize that such 'mandatory' user fees aren't allowed. After investigating, if the province finds that extra-billing took place, it is required to report this annually to the federal government. Ottawa, in turn, will then claw back a certain amount of funding for the province's medicare program under the Canada Health Act. And, on top of the extra-billing, private clinics are charging patients add-ons under the guise that they are medically necessary for cataracts, Mehra said. Last year, Mehra said the coalition received more than 200 complaints over alleged extra-billing for cataract surgeries, one of the top two concerns the group heard from Ontarians. The other was about patients being kicked out of hospital before they are ready to be discharged. And Mehra said she believes there are probably thousands more who just don't know that they're being charged for what should be a free procedure. For its part, the provincial Ministry of Health said that 32,000 people had publicly funded cataract surgery at community surgical and diagnostic centres in 2024. 'We will continue to deliver more connected, convenient care in every corner of the province, always ensuring that people are accessing the care they need with their OHIP card, never their credit card,' ministry spokesperson Ema Popovic said in an emailed statement. Still, Mehra said the complaints heard by the OHC run counter to the intentions of the province's medicare system — something patients also echoed in interviews with the Star. 'Essentially it's like there isn't public medicare when it comes to eye surgery in Ontario,' Mehra said. 'It's gone.' Up until her death in April from complications following cardiac surgery, something about a procedure Judith Deutsch had on her cataract back in 2022 didn't sit right with her, said husband Jim Deutsch. Judith Deutsch, pictured here in March, didn't 'feel good' about her experience seeking care for her cataracts three years ago up until her death in April, husband Jim said. Three years earlier, the Toronto couple had decided to go to a private clinic after they were told the wait time for cataract surgery covered by OHIP 'was going to be too long' by a doctor at a separate clinic. They considered the situation to be an 'emergency' — she incurred a concussion and a gash on her face because she couldn't see well — so the couple was willing to pay out of pocket to get care faster. 'It was going to cost a lot of money,' Jim told the Star. 'But she kept falling and just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.' Jim said he doesn't believe that he and his wife were scammed — they were aware of the private option and had the means to afford it. But he said the couple still didn't 'feel good' about paying to 'jump the queue' for Judith's surgery. The OHC's Mehra said that long wait times are commonly mentioned by doctors at private clinics to encourage patients to pay out of pocket for their surgeries. 'They say the wait times in the public hospital are two years, which they are not,' Mehra said. 'Most people are getting it in 90 days, so they lie to patients and convince them to pay.' According to the province's surgery wait-time website at the time of publication, the average wait time between a referral and the first clinician appointment for the lowest priority patients is 100 days. Meanwhile, the average wait time between a clinical decision for a surgery and the operation itself is 103 days. It's not just wait times; doctors also upsell patients with 'medically unnecessary stuff,' Mehra said. She said the OHC has heard from past cataract patients that they were encouraged to buy corrective lenses that address non-cataract issues like astigmatism. Judith was one of these patients, with Jim saying his wife ended up paying more than $5,000 for her surgery, including specialty lenses that she thought were connected to her cataracts and would lead to better outcomes for her vision, but later learned were for other eye conditions. Although the couple willingly paid more to get faster care, they say they weren't aware the specialty lenses weren't necessary. Mehra said she has also heard of patients being charged for post-operative medicine — something Paula from Barrie told the Star separately. Paula told the Star she had to pay $230 for eye drops after her 2023 surgery at a private clinic, on top of the $5,000 she paid for special lenses and to get faster care. (She said her ophthalmologist told her the wait would be over a year if she did not pay $2,500.) 'That's not right,' Paula said of the eye drop charges. 'They should be covered.' The Star agreed to use only Paula's first name since she has glaucoma and worries that speaking publicly could interfere with her ability to receive care. While Paula knew going into her surgery that she wanted to get upgraded lenses and extra measurements, she said the ophthalmologist didn't ask her if she wanted the upgraded measurements. 'They should have asked me,' she said. 'If there were two options, they should have given me the option of 1 or 2.' Jim Deutsch thinks that his wife's experience seeking care for her cataracts stems from a failure of Canada's medicare program. The office of Ontario's Patient Ombudsman received some 4,429 complaints in the 2023-24 fiscal year — the most since it opened in 2016. The office of Ontario's Patient Ombudsman received some 4,429 complaints in the 2023-24 fiscal year — the most since it opened in 2016. 'Medicare ended up being something that was quite different from what (Tommy Douglas) originally imagined,' said Deutsch, a psychiatrist who moved to Canada from the U.S. decades ago to work in the country's public system. 'Along the way we've ended up with this situation of scarcity and profit and allowing there to be private clinics that will offer something more speedily.' Paula, too, believes the current system isn't fair — even if she said she would pay out of pocket again to get her surgery done faster. 'There is something wrong with the whole system,' she said, describing it as 'two-tier medicine.' The OHC pins the blame on the Ford government, specifically the passage of Bill 60: Your Health Act in 2023. The legislation allows more private clinics to provide certain publicly funded procedures , including cataract surgery. The provincial government said the Act was intended to reduce long wait times, while critics, including the OHC, said it would draw resources away from public hospitals. 'No one is able to regulate and control the private market for health care,' Mehra said. 'The most sensible thing we can do is bring (cataract surgeries) back into public hospitals.' The Ministry of Health's Popovic stood by Bill 60 in her statement to the Star. 'To be very clear, Ontario has provisions through legislation that prohibit a patient from being charged for an OHIP-covered service, legislation that was strengthened by our government through Bill 60,' she said. Popovic added that anyone who believes they have been charged for an OHIP-covered service can contact the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act program to ask for a review, and that those who have been found to have been billed will be reimbursed. After coming home from the private eye clinic, Purdey changed his mind; he wasn't going to pay for the laser measurements or other add-ons. 'I was told that the laser measurement stuff was better,' he said, 'but they didn't really tell me how much better it was.' He called up the clinic to ask for the OHIP-funded procedures and in late May he had the first round of publicly funded surgery on one of his eyes. 'I'm quite satisfied,' Purdey said the day after his surgery. 'I feel like I narrowly missed getting trapped into spending a whole lot of money.'
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Health
- Toronto Star
‘There is something wrong': Patients say they are paying out of pocket for cataract surgeries at private clinics
It all started at the optometrist. Stephen Purdey was at a regular checkup to update his prescription last summer when his optometrist flagged something in his eye. The optometrist thought it was cataracts, but recommended Purdey visit an ophthalmologist to confirm. So Purdey visited a private clinic in Toronto in March for a consultation after months on the wait-list to see a specialist, and that is where he said he started to feel 'vulnerable and susceptible.' 'Because of the combination of wanting to do the best thing for yourself,' said Purdey, who is in his 70s. 'Plus not necessarily understanding everything that the doctors are telling you, you really are as a patient vulnerable to suggestions.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'And that's what happened to me.' The ophthalmologist he was referred to, according to Purdey, acknowledged that the patient could get his procedure done for free under OHIP. Cataract surgery is considered a 'medically necessary surgery' by the province, so even if a person opts to go to a private clinic they shouldn't be billed for the basic OHIP-covered procedure. Patients who spoke to the Star said they went in for cataract surgery at private clinics and felt they had to pay between a couple of hundred and thousands of dollars out of pocket, whether to bypass reportedly long wait times or receive better treatment, including upgraded lenses. Their stories come at a time when the provincial government continues to expand the number of privately run surgical and diagnostic centres performing cataract procedures, a move first announced two years ago. They also raise questions about whether there are sufficient guardrails in place to make sure patients don't feel pressured to pay out of pocket for upgrades they may not need. In Purdey's case, he said his ophthalmologist offered him other options, such as laser-based eye measurements, instead of a free ultrasound measurement, and 'better quality' corrective lenses — treatments that would cost money but, to Purdey, sounded appealing. 'Right away you have the impression that lasers are better than ultrasound,' he said of the measurement procedure. 'And they said, 'Yeah, that's true.'' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Laser-based measurements have been found to be more accurate than an ultrasound, although the American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that there does not appear to be a difference between using a laser or ultrasound during the cataract surgery itself. Purdey was convinced, however, so he agreed to spend $650 on the laser measurements and an astigmatism test and said he'd consider paying another $200 to $1,600 for the so-called better lenses, then went home. 'Out of control' The four patients who spoke to the Star for this story are older adults who were worried that they might forever damage their vision if they didn't get surgery for their cataracts. Some of these same patients also said they didn't think they were given all the information they needed to make a decision about whether to pay for so-called better measurements and lenses. 'It is really out of control,' said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), an advocacy group focused on protecting public health care. 'Essentially it's like there isn't public medicare when it comes to eye surgery in Ontario,' says Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, an advocacy group focused on protecting public health care. 'It's gone.' Richard Lautens Toronto Star Things have gotten so bad from the perspective of the OHC that the group is filing formal complaints with the provincial and federal governments next week, Mehra said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW She said some private clinics around the province bill OHIP for medically necessary cataract surgeries, as they are allowed to, but also charge patients 'mandatory' user fees for things like eye measurements or the surgery itself in a practice known as extra-billing — which is illegal under Ontario law and a breach of the Canada Health Act. Extra-billing also includes charging patients for speedier care. Mehra noted that the onus to report extra-billing to the province is on patients, many of whom do not realize that such 'mandatory' user fees aren't allowed. After investigating, if the province finds that extra-billing took place, it is required to report this annually to the federal government. Ottawa, in turn, will then claw back a certain amount of funding for the province's medicare program under the Canada Health Act. And, on top of the extra-billing, private clinics are charging patients add-ons under the guise that they are medically necessary for cataracts, Mehra said. Last year, Mehra said the coalition received more than 200 complaints over alleged extra-billing for cataract surgeries, one of the top two concerns the group heard from Ontarians. The other was about patients being kicked out of hospital before they are ready to be discharged. And Mehra said she believes there are probably thousands more who just don't know that they're being charged for what should be a free procedure. For its part, the provincial Ministry of Health said that 32,000 people had publicly funded cataract surgery at community surgical and diagnostic centres in 2024. 'We will continue to deliver more connected, convenient care in every corner of the province, always ensuring that people are accessing the care they need with their OHIP card, never their credit card,' ministry spokesperson Ema Popovic said in an emailed statement. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Still, Mehra said the complaints heard by the OHC run counter to the intentions of the province's medicare system — something patients also echoed in interviews with the Star. 'Essentially it's like there isn't public medicare when it comes to eye surgery in Ontario,' Mehra said. 'It's gone.' Hazy advice Up until her death in April from complications following cardiac surgery, something about a procedure Judith Deutsch had on her cataract back in 2022 didn't sit right with her, said husband Jim Deutsch. Judith Deutsch, pictured here in March, didn't 'feel good' about her experience seeking care for her cataracts three years ago up until her death in April, husband Jim said. Family photo Three years earlier, the Toronto couple had decided to go to a private clinic after they were told the wait time for cataract surgery covered by OHIP 'was going to be too long' by a doctor at a separate clinic. They considered the situation to be an 'emergency' — she incurred a concussion and a gash on her face because she couldn't see well — so the couple was willing to pay out of pocket to get care faster. 'It was going to cost a lot of money,' Jim told the Star. 'But she kept falling and just wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.' Jim said he doesn't believe that he and his wife were scammed — they were aware of the private option and had the means to afford it. But he said the couple still didn't 'feel good' about paying to 'jump the queue' for Judith's surgery. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The OHC's Mehra said that long wait times are commonly mentioned by doctors at private clinics to encourage patients to pay out of pocket for their surgeries. 'They say the wait times in the public hospital are two years, which they are not,' Mehra said. 'Most people are getting it in 90 days, so they lie to patients and convince them to pay.' According to the province's surgery wait-time website at the time of publication, the average wait time between a referral and the first clinician appointment for the lowest priority patients is 100 days. Meanwhile, the average wait time between a clinical decision for a surgery and the operation itself is 103 days. It's not just wait times; doctors also upsell patients with 'medically unnecessary stuff,' Mehra said. She said the OHC has heard from past cataract patients that they were encouraged to buy corrective lenses that address non-cataract issues like astigmatism. Judith was one of these patients, with Jim saying his wife ended up paying more than $5,000 for her surgery, including specialty lenses that she thought were connected to her cataracts and would lead to better outcomes for her vision, but later learned were for other eye conditions. Although the couple willingly paid more to get faster care, they say they weren't aware the specialty lenses weren't necessary. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Mehra said she has also heard of patients being charged for post-operative medicine — something Paula from Barrie told the Star separately. Paula told the Star she had to pay $230 for eye drops after her 2023 surgery at a private clinic, on top of the $5,000 she paid for special lenses and to get faster care. (She said her ophthalmologist told her the wait would be over a year if she did not pay $2,500.) 'That's not right,' Paula said of the eye drop charges. 'They should be covered.' The Star agreed to use only Paula's first name since she has glaucoma and worries that speaking publicly could interfere with her ability to receive care. While Paula knew going into her surgery that she wanted to get upgraded lenses and extra measurements, she said the ophthalmologist didn't ask her if she wanted the upgraded measurements. 'They should have asked me,' she said. 'If there were two options, they should have given me the option of 1 or 2.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Patients blame issues with medicare system Jim Deutsch thinks that his wife's experience seeking care for her cataracts stems from a failure of Canada's medicare program. Business She paid $8,000 for cataract surgery at a private clinic on a doctor's referral. She says no one told her OHIP had a free option The office of Ontario's Patient Ombudsman received some 4,429 complaints in the 2023-24 fiscal year — the most since it opened in 2016. Business She paid $8,000 for cataract surgery at a private clinic on a doctor's referral. She says no one told her OHIP had a free option The office of Ontario's Patient Ombudsman received some 4,429 complaints in the 2023-24 fiscal year — the most since it opened in 2016. 'Medicare ended up being something that was quite different from what (Tommy Douglas) originally imagined,' said Deutsch, a psychiatrist who moved to Canada from the U.S. decades ago to work in the country's public system. 'Along the way we've ended up with this situation of scarcity and profit and allowing there to be private clinics that will offer something more speedily.' Paula, too, believes the current system isn't fair — even if she said she would pay out of pocket again to get her surgery done faster. 'There is something wrong with the whole system,' she said, describing it as 'two-tier medicine.' The OHC pins the blame on the Ford government, specifically the passage of Bill 60: Your Health Act in 2023. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The legislation allows more private clinics to provide certain publicly funded procedures, including cataract surgery. The provincial government said the Act was intended to reduce long wait times, while critics, including the OHC, said it would draw resources away from public hospitals. 'No one is able to regulate and control the private market for health care,' Mehra said. 'The most sensible thing we can do is bring (cataract surgeries) back into public hospitals.' The Ministry of Health's Popovic stood by Bill 60 in her statement to the Star. 'To be very clear, Ontario has provisions through legislation that prohibit a patient from being charged for an OHIP-covered service, legislation that was strengthened by our government through Bill 60,' she said. Popovic added that anyone who believes they have been charged for an OHIP-covered service can contact the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act program to ask for a review, and that those who have been found to have been billed will be reimbursed. 'Narrowly missed getting trapped' After coming home from the private eye clinic, Purdey changed his mind; he wasn't going to pay for the laser measurements or other add-ons. 'I was told that the laser measurement stuff was better,' he said, 'but they didn't really tell me how much better it was.' He called up the clinic to ask for the OHIP-funded procedures and in late May he had the first round of publicly funded surgery on one of his eyes. 'I'm quite satisfied,' Purdey said the day after his surgery. 'I feel like I narrowly missed getting trapped into spending a whole lot of money.'
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Niagara Falls MPP backs cross-party push to extend OHIP for prostate cancer testing
Momentum continues to grow for Wayne Gates' push to extend OHIP coverage for prostate cancer screening. On Thursday, the New Democrat supported independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady's motion to extend Ontario Health Insurance Plan coverage for PSA testing — a cause Gates has championed at Queen's Park for the past six years. 'This isn't about politics — it's about saving lives,' said Gates. 'Every year, thousands of men are diagnosed too late because cost is a barrier to early testing. We can fix that. I'm proud to support MPP Brady's motion and I hope every member in the legislature does the same.' Brady, the province's lone independent MPP, representing nearby Haldimand-Norfolk, said she has previously stood and called on the government to support Gates' effort. 'Seeing no movement on this initiative and inspired by the longtime calls for this important change from my colleague Wayne Gates … I have renewed the call with the motion asking the Ford government to cover the cost of PSA tests through OHIP when referred by a health-care provider.' Independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady. The call to action comes just ahead of Father's Day — a time Gates said is 'perfect' for raising awareness of men's health. He said prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian men. PSA testing now is not covered by OHIP unless there are symptoms evident, often making it too late for early intervention, said Gates. The motion wants OHIP to cover the cost of tests for patients referred by a health-care provider, saving them the roughly $40 charged by private labs in Ontario. Although earlier readings of Gates' bill won all-party support, the government defeated the bill last year. Canadian Cancer Society's Dr. Stuart Edmonds. A cancer diagnosis costs Canadians an average of $33,000 in their lifetime — on top of that, there are other out-of-pocket expenses like PSA testing, said Dr. Stuart Edmonds, executive vice-president of mission research and advocacy at the Canadian Cancer Society. He said prostate cancer strikes one in eight Canadian men. 'We believe that early detection of prostate cancer shouldn't come with a price tag. The question shouldn't be, 'Can you afford the test?' It should be, 'Do you need it?'' Gates said the latest motion will be debated at a later date, adding it's significant to have Brady — a woman — at the forefront of the effort. 'I think it's really important because it affects the entire family — it may be men that get prostate cancer, but it affects their spouses, the kids. It's good news for us as we try to put more pressure on the government to do this.' He said there's also growing support from firefighter groups across Ontario. 'Firefighters are more likely to get prostate cancer than the general public by 1.41 per cent, so this is now one that the provincial association and the local firefighters are now raising the awareness of trying to get it covered.' Gates said continued awareness is also important. 'Early detection is the key. We think it's a very important motion. I'm glad that it's supported by the Liberals. I'm glad that it's supported by the Greens. I'm glad it's supported by Bobbi Ann. Let's make this the year we get it done — together.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CTV News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Ontario now allows accents on Outdoors Cards
French-language speakers can now have accents in their names on Ontario outdoors cards, says Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas, who pushed for the change, with mailing addresses also including accents, while efforts continue to add them to OHIP cards.
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario urged to drop parking fees for hospital patients
The Ford government is being urged to cover parking costs for hospital patients, some of whom say they are paying hundreds — and even thousands — of dollars while they get treatment. New Democrat MPP Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) tabled a motion in the Ontario legislature Wednesday saying patients, their families and front-line staff should not have to pay to park at hospitals. 'No one should have to worry about paying for parking when they go to the hospital,' he said. 'Right now, people are spending hundreds of dollars a year just to access care — whether it's for regular treatments, emergency visits or to support a loved one. It is unfair to charge health-care workers to park when they are at work to save lives.' The call follows a recent move by Nova Scotia, where Conservative Premier Tim Houston eliminated parking fees at hospitals for patients, visitors and health-care workers, and said his government would help make up the financial shortfall. 'This is a common-sense solution to fight rising costs and improve access to health care,' Burch said at Queen's Park. Ontarians who are diagnosed with cancer face an average of about $33,000 in overall extra costs in their lifetime, the Canadian Cancer Society said, and doing away with parking fees would help ease that financial burden. 'Ontario should follow Nova Scotia's lead and ensure patients pay for the care they need, when and where they need it, with their OHIP card, not their credit card,' said society spokesperson Hillary Buchan-Terrell. Health Minister Sylvia Jones said there already limits on how much hospital visitors and staff are charged for parking, and that hospitals must offer reasonable daily rates, as well as discounted weekly and monthly passes. Burch says the discounts now in effect won't solve the problem. 'They can't predict when they're going to get sick,' he said. 'Having a monthly pass isn't going to be helpful.' Debbie MacGregor, a St. Catharines resident, said she paid more than $7,000 in parking fees between 2016 and 2025 after her sister, mother and brother were admitted to hospitals before succumbing to their illnesses. While hospitals must already provide discounted monthly passes, MacGregor said that at the time, she was unsure how long her family members would be in the hospital so she didn't take advantage of them. NDP Leader Marit Stiles said parking costs are 'an issue we hear about all the time.' People 'don't have a choice in many parts of this province but to actually park at a hospital,' Stiles said. 'These are the ways that the government gets around properly funding our hospitals, by allowing for these kind of outrageous parking fees.' The provincial government, she added, should 'not be forcing people — patients and their families — to shoulder that burden.'
