Ontario Health Coalition Files Complaints Over Illegal Cataract Surgery Fees

安大略省健康联盟就非法白内障手术费用提出投诉

June 23, 2025

2025年6月23日

The Ontario Health Coalition, together with affected patients, has filed formal complaints alleging illegal user fees for cataract surgeries at private clinics in Ontario. The coalition has compiled evidence from 50 patients, although it has received over 200 complaints in the past year.

安大略省健康联盟与受影响的患者一起，正式投诉安大略省私立诊所进行白内障手术时收取非法用户费用。该联盟已经从50名患者处收集了证据，尽管在过去一年中已收到超过200起投诉。

Senior Patients Charged Excessive Fees

老年人被收取过高费用

“These represent only a small fraction of the number of patients who are facing charges of hundreds to thousands of dollars when they go for cataract surgery in the private clinics,” the coalition stated.

“这些仅代表了一小部分患者，他们在私人诊所接受白内障手术时面临数百至数千美元的费用，”该联盟表示。

“Without question, patients – many of whom are elderly and on fixed incomes – are being exploited,” said Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Coalition. “They are being charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars… Some have even had to go back to work long after retirement to pay for their surgeries.

“毫无疑问，患者——其中许多人是老年人且收入固定——正在被剥削，”联盟执行董事娜塔莉·梅赫拉说。“他们被收取了数百甚至数千美元的费用……有些人甚至不得不在退休很久之后重新回去工作来支付手术费用。”

This should never happen in Canada.”.

这在加拿大绝不应该发生。

Legal Protections Under the Canada Health Act

加拿大健康法下的法律保护

The Canada Health Act explicitly prohibits user charges and extra billing for medically necessary surgeries, including cataract operations. This includes coverage for:

《加拿大健康法》明确禁止对必要的医疗手术收取用户费用和额外账单，包括白内障手术。这包括覆盖以下内容：

• Eye measurements

• 眼部测量

• Specialty lenses

• 特种镜头

• Physician appointments

• 医生预约

• Follow-up care

• 随访护理

Selling priority access (“queue jumping”) is also forbidden under the Act. The Coalition notes that most patients receive cataract surgery within 3½ months for urgent cases and 7 months for non-urgent cases.

根据该法案，出售优先权（“插队”）也是被禁止的。联盟指出，大多数患者在3个半月内接受白内障手术属于紧急情况，7个月内接受手术属于非紧急情况。

Personal Accounts Highlight Severe Financial Burden

个人账户凸显严重财政负担

During the press conference, patients shared their experiences:

在新闻发布会上，患者分享了他们的经历：

•

•

Maureen Munro (London):

莫琳·芒罗（伦敦）：

Diagnosed with macular degeneration, she was told she must pay nearly $7,000 or face a 2‑year wait.

被诊断为黄斑变性后，她被告知必须支付近 7,000 美元，否则将面临长达两年的等待。

•

•

David Kauk (Kitchener‑Waterloo):

大卫·考克（基奇纳-滑铁卢）：

Charged $250 for eye measurements and $1,100 per eye for surgery.

收费250美元用于眼部测量，每只眼睛手术费用为1,100美元。

Escalating Costs and Aggressive Billing Tactics

不断上升的成本和激进的计费策略

The Coalition has sent two open letters—one to Ontario’s Health Minister Sylvia Jones, and another to Federal Health Minister Marjorie Mitchell—detailing the surge in illegal billing.

该联盟已发出两封公开信——一封给安大略省卫生部长西尔维娅·琼斯，另一封给联邦卫生部长玛乔丽·米切尔——详细说明了非法收费的激增情况。

“In context, we have tracked extra billing and user fees for decades. What we are seeing now is the worst we have ever seen,” wrote Mehra. “Elderly patients are now being charged up to $11,000… Some describe these charges as taking their entire savings… Others have had to return to work when they are more than 70 years old to pay their bills.”.

“在背景下，我们已经追踪了数十年的额外账单和用户费用。我们现在看到的是有史以来最糟糕的情况，”梅赫拉写道。“老年患者现在被收取高达11,000美元的费用……一些人形容这些收费拿走了他们所有的积蓄……其他人则在70多岁时不得不返回工作岗位来支付账单。”

She added that clinics are using “coercive and manipulative tactics” to upsell unnecessary services.

她补充说，诊所正在使用“强迫和操纵手段”来搭售不必要的服务。

Coalition Calls for Government Action

联盟呼吁政府采取行动

The Ontario Health Coalition is urging immediate action:

安大略省健康联盟敦促立即采取行动：

• The Ontario government must stop private clinics from charging illegal fees.

• 安大略省政府必须阻止私人诊所收取非法费用。

• The Federal government needs to enforce the Canada Health Act to protect seniors and preserve public health care standards.

• 联邦政府需要执行《加拿大健康法》以保护老年人并维护公共医疗保健标准。

This coordinated effort marks a critical call to safeguard equity and prevent financial abuse in vital eye care services.

这项协调一致的努力标志着一个关键的呼吁，即在重要的眼科护理服务中维护公平，防止财务滥用。