September 27th, 2021
September 27th, 2021
QUEEN’S PARK — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on the Doug Ford government to immediately get back to the table with optometrists, and put fair funding in place to give children and seniors the eye care they’re being denied.
“There are kids and teens struggling in school because they can’t see the board, or coping with eye pain and headaches. There are older adults facing the loss of independence because they can’t get a new prescription,” said Horwath.
“Doug Ford is forcing all children, teens and seniors to go without vision care in order to save a buck. He doesn’t want to spend the money, and it’s everyday people who are paying the price.”
Government underfunding and a refusal to negotiate has caused all eye exams covered by OHIP to stop on Sept. 1 — which means no one under 20 or over 65 can make an eye exam appointment, even if they have insurance.
The previous Liberal government badly underfunded vision care for kids and seniors, and the Ford government’s refusal to invest in it has turned the funding problem into a care crisis.
On Monday, Horwath was joined by Toronto mom Beverly Murray, whose 17-year-old daughter is suffering from migraines and eye pain. Denied an eye appointment, Murray’s daughter struggles with pain, while Murray lays awake at night worrying about her.
“My heart breaks for the Murray family, and the millions of other families that have nowhere to turn if they need an eye appointment right now,” said Horwath. “It never should have come to this. But what the NDP would do differently right now is to immediately get back to the table and negotiate a fair plan to fund seniors and children’s eye appointments.”
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Beverly Murray
“It’s hard to sleep knowing my daughter is suffering because she can’t get the eye care she needs. The pain she is experiencing is affecting her health, her life and her school. The government needs to resolve this situation immediately so my daughter can get the relief she deserves.”