C-sections will still be funded by OHIP: health minister

Caesarean sections, whether planned or unplanned, will still be covered by OHIP, Ontario health minister Deb Matthews told reporters Thursday.

“I want to make this very clear: we are not delisting caesarean sections,” Matthews said at the Village Family Health Team in Toronto.

On Wednesday, Matthews had said the province might consider reducing funding for planned C-sections. A government study found that some Ontario doctors perform far more of the procedures than doctors in other urban areas.

“We rely on evidence to make decisions…I can’t say there will be [fewer C-sections] in the future. I can say evidence will guide our decision-making.”

Ontario is facing a $16-billion deficit ahead of the March budget, and health care costs account for about 44 per cent of the province’s expenditures.

Premier Dalton McGuinty commissioned a report to reduce government spending. The report, led by Don Drummond, said increasing the number of birthing centres might reduce the number of hospital C-sections.

“I can’t speak specifically to birthing centres,” Matthews said.

“I know Ontario Midwives are advocating for that. I can say that when we can move procedures out of hospitals, that’s better health care.”

Matthews said Wednesday the province is considered delisting certain services to trim costs.

On Tuesday, McGuinty said during a speech half of all government spending — about $55 billion a year — goes to wages, and all government departments are being asked to cut costs.

The NDP criticized the Liberal plan to trim the budget by eliminating healthcare coverage. Finance critic Michael Prue told The Canadian Press that cutting healthcare is a “slippery slope” that started when the Liberals delisted chiropractors, physiotherapists and optometrists eight years ago.

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