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Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, January 10, 1996 - 7 MPP Hosts New Year s Levee Durham East MPP John OToole held a Levee for his constituents on Sunday January 7 at his office in Bowmanville. Here the MPP poses with his staff, Steve Kay, Louise Jones, Pat Maijerrison, and John OToole. Staying In Touch John O'Toole, MPP Durham East Bill 26, The Savings and Restructuring Act 1995, is creating plenty of interest. I promised last week to begin a series of articles about this Bill. Let me start by agreeing that this is a large and com- plex piece of legislation. However, let me assure you that most legislation that Bill 26 deals with is complex by nature. The reason this Bill is large is because it deals with fundamental changes in the method by which our provin- cial government allocates subsidies or funding to its partners (municipalities, hos- pitals, universities, colleges and schools). Our Bill 26, amends some 47 statutes in 10 ministries. Compare this to the NDP, Bill 175, which amended 139 statutes in 14 ministries and allowed only 3 days in second reading and only 30 minutes in Committee of the Whole. The real issue is the threat of change which I can under- stand. However, we were elected to make real change. Some highly visible groups are upset. This govemment must measure our changes and listen. After all, Premier Harris and our government are trying to take care of "your money". We are spending over $1 million each and every hour more than we take in as your taxes. The choice for each level of govemment is the same, either increase taxes or cut spending. Let me start by thanking the other 40 people who called my office on Bill 26. I have responded to most of these calls. The 15 letters were generally the same as the phone calls. Many of you wanted copies of Bill 26. All bills can be purchased and I am allowed very few original copies. However, we do try to get photocopies of the rele- vant sections to those who ask. Bill 26 is 211 pages (110 English + 110 French), including 17 sections (A to Q) each dealing with a different ministry / regulation. Health Care continues to be of highest concern to callers. Bill 26 deals with health care in Schedules (F through 1). Details as follows: Schedule F: Health Services Restructuring -deals with hospitals and the reallocation of facilities. Presently, there are over 6,700 hospital beds closed in the province. No one has been willing to make the hard decisions to merge or close existing facilities. We must restructure the distribution of beds and facilities to gain the possible duplication of service costs. Many of you are famil- iar with the Durham District Health Council report (The Acute Care Study). Schedule G: Ontario Drug Benefits Section This introduces a co-pay- ment and examines the Pharmacists dispensing fee. Is there waste in the system? According to the Ontario Council of Universities December 18 1995 newslet- ter, Dr. Robert Coambs from the University of Toronto study found that over 1/2 the users of prescriptions do not follow instructions or waste most of the pills costing Canadians between $7 to $9 billion annually. We are also extending Trillium benefits to an additional 144,000 people on low incomes by introduc- ing a co-payment. Schedule H: Amends the Health Insurance Act & Health Care Accessibility Act This part of the act attempts to deal with the dis- tribution of physician's ser- vices in to under serviced areas. It also deals with doc- tor's fees for service. This sec- tion is causing the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) a great deal of difficulty. However, I am appealing to the Minister to allocate the $70.00 per hour emergency room coverage at Port Perry Hospital. Schedule 1: Physician Service Delivery Management Act 1995 This section amends previ- ous agreements between the OMA and the Province. This section does pose a threat to OMA and I am convinced that most doctors are willing to re- think affordability in health care. However, we must deal with the under-serviced areas. For example, in Toronto there are 42% more doctors per capita than the provincial average, yet we are short of doctors in my riding. With Respect to Confidentiality of Patient Information Minister Jim Wilson and I do not want medical informa- tion in the wrong hands for any reason. There is the Freedom of Information & Privacy Commission and the Minister Jim Wilson has agreed that this part of the bill will be changed. (Toronto Star, Dec. 8, 95) Routinely in other provinces, (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, B.C., etc.) currently have the saine legislation. This information is used by the authorized MRC (Medical Review Committee) to investigate and prevent fraud in doctor's billing practices. Every sys- tem needs to have checks and balances. What are people saying? Mark Rochon, president and CEO of Humber Memorial Hospital said on November 29 in the Toronto Star, "I believe the government is moving in the right direction. It is important that governments set fiscal parameters for the health care system in partic- ular, so that the system can begin to restructure to create an environment where sav ings can be achieved to put back into the front line ser- vices we provide to our com- munity." Dr. Alan Hudson of the Toronto Hospital, in the Toronto Star January 6 said, "Toronto Hospital cuts 50 non-medical staff...there is no easy way to do this but staff reductions (starting at the top) and non-medical posi- tions must be made." David Allen of Toronto Hospital expects some -500 jobs to be reviewed of the 6,000 staff. This is the only way that front line care can survive. The Premier and this gov ernment are committed to, "No Cuts to Health Care." We are spending $17.4 billion. However, we must eliminate abuse and misuse at every level. Where does the $17.4 billion go? Next week I will detail where the money is spent. The 23,000 doctors in Ontario share approximately $3.8 billion every year and rising. Demand for service is rising for many reasons but primarily due to population increasing and populations aging. Furthermore, techni- cal advances in diagnostics has increased life expectancy but at the same time diseases and symptoms can now be detected and treated. There are no easy solutions to a sys- tem which has been taken for granted by everyone. Nothing is free, every unnecessary emergency room visit, doctor visit and medical test, some- one is paying. It is not a case of blaming any single group. All of us are concerned about a sus- tainable future for health care. I ask each of you to think about practical changes which could be made. Ask yourself the question; "Can we afford not to have a small user fee perhaps on some non-life threatening medical procedures? How do we slow down demand for service?" I will continue this article next week. Please call my office and get answers to your con- cerns or express any sugges- tions you may have. It is my duty to communicate with every constituent. These are important times, I ask you to keep involved and keep your elected representative at all levels, school trustee, local and regional councillor, mayor, MPP and MP account able. John O'Toole MPP Durham East BALLS RADIO & T.V. REPAIR REPAIRS TO MOST MAKES STEREOS, COLOUR AND B&W T.V.s AND V.C.R.s P.O. Box 27 R.R. 2, Orono, Ont. (905) 983-5721 St. Stephen's Secondary School INFORMATION MEETING For Parents of Grade 8 Students Thursday, January 18, 1996 7:00 p.m. Presentation in the Auditorium