Good news has arrived for people waiting for an OHIP-funded eye exam.
As of Nov. 23, the Ontario Association of Optometrists has agreed to pause its job action as the Ministry of Health will come back to the negotiating table.
Approximately 2,500 members of the OAO stopped all eye exams for OHIP patients in September, which disproportionately affected youth, disabled people and seniors. The action was taken in an effort to push the province to increase the per diem for eye exams.
Ontario’s optometrists have only received a $5 per diem raise in more than three decades, to about $44. The actual cost of an exam is about $80, meaning optometrists are effectively subsiding eye care.
A media release issued by the OAO Monday said a “swift resolution of this issue is a top priority for both optometrists and their patients.”
