Ontario extended hospital care to uninsured patients during the pandemic. But that's coming to an end

Toronto woman Rose Celeste says she spent years avoiding a visit to the doctor.

As an undocumented migrant worker, she feared something as simple as a checkup could lead to her deportation back to the Philippines.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit three years ago, that changed. The province directed hospitals to temporarily provide medically necessary care to patients without coverage while it reimbursed them for the expense — something that led Celeste, 61, to discover and then treat her thyroid cancer.

Without this program, she estimates she'd be thousands of dollars in the red trying to pay for health care herself — or worse, dead.

"For migrant workers like me, this is very important and this is very crucial," said Celeste, an active member of the migrant workers' movement in Canada.

"My God, you can just imagine how happy I am."

And she's not alone. A report released Thursday by the advocacy group Health Network for Uninsured Clients found that this program improved health outcomes and reduced financial hardship for Ontario residents without insurance. It's why the network is advocating for this program to be made permanent.

Despite this, the province confirmed it's winding it down. In an email statement to CBC Toronto Saturday, the Ministry of Health said program funding will cease at the end of this month, citing similar reasons in line with its recent move to end its paid sick days program.

"With lower rates of COVID-19 and the ending of public health restrictions, the province is winding down its pandemic response measures to focus resources on delivering services Ontarians need the most," reads the ministry's email.

"As was the case prior to the pandemic, from April 1, those who are not eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and do not have any other form of health insurance coverage are encouraged to speak to the treating hospital and/or physician to develop plans for future care."

In a statement, the network called the ministry's plans to end the program "devastating."

"If you have to choose between feeding your family and treating an infection — those are not real choices. People will choose to feed their families, and they will suffer," wrote the network.

"We know how this story ends. It's not good for patients, for families and not the health care system. This program needs to be made permanent."

The network surveyed 18 health-care practitioners who directly work with uninsured clients. While the report notes implementation was imperfect throughout the province due to lack of awareness of the program, respondents said the directive has largely improved health outcomes and reduced financial hardship, stress and delays to accessing care.