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The Trojan Horse of healthcare privatization in Hawkesbury
Posted: November 6, 2024
(November 5, 2024) By: Philipp Oddi, Penticton Herald
Making its trip through Ontario, the 15-foot Trojan Horse representing the privatization of healthcare stopped in front of the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital on the morning of November 4. The wooden structure has been invoking conversation around the increased reliance on private health clinics in the province, seen by organizers as siphoning funds from the public system.
Organized by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), the Trojan Horse project aims to inform the public of the downsides to encouraging the privatization of healthcare. Promised as providing “relief from the current ills of the system,” the horse plays on the Greek myth’s narrative as a gesture of good faith during a long war with Troy.
The Greek’s long war with Troy can be substituted for Premier Ford’s government’s long-perceived battle with public services in the province, notably healthcare. Healthcare issues arise with the larger use of for-profit clinics, with organizers stating that this horse will bring extra billing, higher death rates, and longer wait times to those seeking medical services in Ontario.
“Ontario now funds our public hospitals at the lowest rate in Canada, with the lowest staffing levels and bed capacity across the country,” organizers said.
In turn, this means more Ontarians are seeking to meet their healthcare needs through the private options popping up across the province. The costs associated with these private providers tend to be more than double the cost of the same service provided in the public system.
Organizers provided an example from an August 2024 Canadian Medical Association study that highlighted “the rates of private cataract surgeries for the wealthiest people in Ontario increased by 22 per cent while going down by 9 per cent for the lowest income earners.”
Additionally, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) found that the average cost of a knee surgery was $10,000 at a hospital in the public system but more than double that amount, $28,000, at a private clinic.
Wealthier individuals who have the financial ability can make use of private clinics to receive services and surgeries faster than in the publicly funded system, where wait times are continuously getting longer with staff shortages and reduced hours.
Co-chair of the OHC Elaine MacDonald concluded, “Right now, the fight is going on. Not just against privatization directly but against so much indirect privatization. Getting the word out is absolutely essential for the sake of the people of Ontario. This is a public service we can’t let go.”
The Trojan Horse and its crew will continue making the journey across Ontario, with the tour ending in Oakville on November 8.
More information about the cause, its history, and additional statistics can be found online at ochu.on.ca and ontariohealthcoalition.ca.
