The Ontario Health Coalition says people are being charged user fees at private clinics and it’s a violation of the Canada Health Act.

It claims six researchers phoned a variety of private clinics and that the majority informed the callers they would be charged user fees ranging from $50 – $3500, depending on the service provided.

The OHC also says patients it talked to expressed confusion about what health services are covered by OHIP and which are not, which the organization says can leave them vulnerable to being unnecessarily charged.

They say, “The evidence from our research shows that these clinics undermine single-tier health care, increase costs for patients, sell unnecessary procedures to increase costs at the expense of patients, and violate patient trust.”