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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (1299)	9/14/2006 4:29:11 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 42652

A 59-year-old Ontario woman on disability for a heart-related problem is complaining of age discrimination after she was rejected by a local doctor advertising for new patients. Edith Paulus had already endured two fruitless years of searching for a family physician in Barrie -- a city designated under Ontario's ministry of health as being under-serviced for family doctors -- when she found Dr. Derek Nesdoly's ad in a local community newspaper. The general practitioner was seeking new patients. But when Paulus called Nesdoly's office in Midhurst, a community just west of Barrie, she was told the doctor wasn't accepting patients older than 55. "I cried a lot, really, because it really hit me," Paulus told CTV News. "Oh my God, I am old, not important." Nesdoly, however, denies that he discriminates against older people. He told CTV News that he has plenty of elderly patients, and felt he had to start making room in his practice for young families moving into the community. "Then people felt rejected, turned away, belittled, or unimportant -- that was never our intent," the doctor told CTV News. "You have to say at some point (that) you can't fix the whole problem." Nesdoly's position may be justified by a 2005 Statistics Canada Community Health Survey, which found that 95.2 per cent of people over 65 already have a family doctor, compared to 75.7 per cent for those between 20 to 34. And the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons does not restrict a doctor's right to reject a person based on age. But the Ontario Human Rights Commission says that's wrong. "Age is a protected ground in the Ontario human rights code," Barbara Hall, chief commissioner for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, told CTV News. "What that means is you can't be refused services because of age." Activists for seniors say not only is it wrong, it will cost the health care system a lot more if Canada's aging population is denied timely access to treatment. "We talk about prevention, and healthy living," said Judy Cutler, communications director for Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus (CARP). "(But) how are you supposed to do that on your own if no one is there to work with you and help you?" Nesdoly explained that his no-patients-over-55 rule was initiated after, not before, he placed the ad -- which garnered 400 calls a day. He said he even accepted new patients in their 80s and 90s after placing the ad, but had to put the cap in place to limit the number of responses. Unfortunately for Paulus, she responded too late. "What am I to do?" she asked. Paulus's story highlights a struggle many Canadians may have to endure as the doctor shortage worsens. In November of last year, an Ontario Medical Association study said the province could have a 2,400-doctor shortage by 2006 if action isn't taken immediately. That shortage could jump to 2,800 physicians by 2010, says the report. OMA President Dr. Greg Flynn said although the province has taken several steps to train more doctors and certify those trained abroad faster, "much more remains to be done, before we will see improvements." Health Minister George Smitherman announced in 2005 an additional $33 million for medical school funding, aimed at creating 41 new family residency positions in Ontario in 2006. That will mean an estimated 337 more family doctors by 2008. liberty-page.com