FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December
13, 2005
Trillium
privatization to put health and financial records in the
hands of private operators
TORONTO – Employees of a
private corporation will soon have access to the health and
financial records of over 200,000 Ontarians under a plan to
privatize a key prescription drug program.
The McGuinty government
announced Nov. 14 that it will privatize the Trillium Drug
Program. The program subsidizes prescription drugs for people
who face extreme drug costs related to HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart
disease, and other serious ailments.
“This privatization puts
personal health record and income tax information in the hands
of employees of a private corporation,” said David Rapaport,
an Executive Board Member of the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union (OPSEU). “These employees, who are not
accountable to the people of Ontario, will be making decisions
on who gets life-saving drugs and who doesn’t.
“After the revelations in the
last report of the Auditor General, it should be obvious that
this is a very bad idea.”
In his report Dec. 6, Ontario
Auditor General Jim McCarter revealed widespread problems with
the network of private operators who issue driver and vehicle
licences in the province.
“The record of privatization is
a record of lax security, poor accountability, low quality
service, and inflated costs,” said Rapaport. “Our union will
be working closely with users of the Trillium Drug Program to
make sure it stays in public hands.”
The Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care has set a date of June 30, 2006 to hand the
program over to a private operator.
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For more information:
David Rapaport (416) 452-9927
