MEDIA ADVISORY: Press conferences with patients who have been charged user fees of hundreds or even thousands of dollars at for-profit surgery clinics

TORONTO and LONDON and WATERLOO and BRAMPTON, Ontario, April 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Patients are being threatened with extremely long wait times, denied vital procedure information, and coerced or manipulated into paying for unnecessary add-ons at for-profit surgical and diagnostic clinics. The extra charges for medically necessary services are not only unlawful and illegal under Ontario’s and Canada’s Public Medicare protection laws, but they impose significant financial strain on patients. Patients will join press conferences in four cities to tell their stories. At the same time, the Ontario Health Coalition will release a report based on eighteen case studies and over 100 patients who have reported being charged out-of-pocket fees at for-profit clinics recently. More press conferences in additional communities will follow.

When: Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Where:        
TORONTO
11 a.m. Classroom C on 2nd Floor, Ontario Nurses’ Association, 85 Grenville St.
        
LONDON
11 a.m. Tonda Room, London Public Library – Central Library, 251 Dundas St.
        
WATERLOO
12 p.m. James Brown Auditorium, Waterloo Public Library – Main Library, 35 Albert St.

BRAMPTON
1 p.m. Bramalea Rd and Bovaird Dr E, Brampton Civic Hospital.

For more information:
Ontario-wide – Natalie Mehra, executive director, Ontario Health Coalition 416-230-6402 (cell) natalie@ontariohc.ca
London – Peter Bergmanis 519-860-4403 (cell) pbergmanis@rogers.com
Waterloo – Jim Stewart 519-588-5841 (cell) waterlooregionhealthcoalition@gmail.com
Brampton – Janine Herrmann-McLeod 647-237-6276 (cell), info@BramptonCaledonHC.ca