BY: MATIAS DE DOVITIIS
Canada made a momentous leap in 1966 to move towards universal health care, but since then, and for over 50 years, we have stalled progress. Most of the medications seniors take now did not even exist then, so it would have been hard to imagine at the time the medical needs of today's system. What remains an evergreen concept is that it is cheaper to keep people healthy with preventative health than to treat them in emergency rooms. It is also, and this goes without saying, much better for all of us as a society to have access to affordable universal health care that covers all of our needs.
Dental care, medicine and mental health services are not covered currently by OHIP for most people in Ontario. That is about to change. The Federal budget approved the start of a dental care program that will provide services for all children under 12 years old in 2022. The program would then grow to include all children under 18, seniors and persons living with a disability in 2023. The program would consist of everyone by 2025 that makes under $90,000 annually. Just a few days ago, I met a retired couple that are delaying the dental work they need because they cannot afford it and do not have private insurance coverage. Roberto Mantero, a resident of the Downsview area, says, "I hope this (deal) happens, and it will be a good thing for people. Costs in Canada are too high for the dentist. It is not an aesthetic thing. You need your teeth to eat. You can get sick if you don't eat well".
Similarly, the federal budget also includes the initial steps for a universal pharmacare program to help pay for medicines starting at the end of 2023. It could save families thousands of dollars a year. With the costs of living rising as they are, pharmacare provides stability for families with significant health issues.
Just recently, the Ontario NDP, which is poised to take a considerable amount of seats in the upcoming Provincial election once again, has pledged to institute universal mental health care under OHIP. This is the first time in Canada that such a program has been pledged by a major political party. Under all of these programs, we would see the start of a genuinely modern health system in Ontario, which would invest in prevention and deliver better living standards to millions. We need more nurses to help seniors and people with disabilities who live at home and independently. We need better early health care, such as dental service, to reduce the trips to emergency rooms and improve lives.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made many things harder for people in the last two years. Isolation, depression and financial strain have burdened many of us. Lost jobs and closed up businesses abound. Children were locked up in their homes for months on end in front of a screen for most of the day. These changes can finally help to turn the corner for many of us. And these changes cannot start soon enough.