QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles released the following statement in response to the Ford Conservatives plan to reduce eye exam eligibility for seniors:
"Seniors are having a hard enough time right now without having to go longer between eye exams, which are critical to seniors’ health.
The Ford government reducing OHIP-covered eye check-ups for people 65 and older to every 18 months instead of annually will hurt seniors—preventative eye care is important to catching issues early and could impact seniors' ability to live independently.
Only seniors who can afford to pay out-of-pocket will be able to get more frequent eye exams. This announcement is yet another example of Doug Ford funnelling money out of our public health care system into private, for-profit care."