Ontario Health "Premium"

[geo]

Inuit or Innu?
Inuit live in the NWT while the Innu are amerinds living in Labrador.

Also - to not pay taxes, he has to live on a reservation - Innu have reservations, Inuit don't.... maybe it's a matter of him not making enough $$ to pay taxes.

 

[orange.paint]

This was a sore point for me a few years ago when I was single paying 600 dollars a year (IIRC) which at the time resembled a paycheck with rations taken off.I will say that incentives like CHEAP HOUSING (not expensive "cheap" houses i.e PMQ'S) and as TMM stated earlier maybe we could have one tax for army personnel so when you get posted it isn't a kick in the peanuts.Maybe we could expand this a little further where an insurance company will allow military members a base cheap auto insurance across Canada.Therefore when your posted from CFB Gagetown to Petawawa your insurance doesn't go from 150 /month to 320/month.

P.S Inuit also come from Labrador,apparently I'm like 1/8Th also.Currently looking into benefits.

 

[geo]

I would gather that you pay plenty of taxes (as I: sob!) so Fry's story of a friend not paying is not across the board.

(in some places, the Insurance cos would be inclined to charge us more $$ cause we have a rep for DUI)

 

[Fry]

Hey, I'm just relaying what I was told

 

[orange.paint]

(in some places, the Insurance cos would be inclined to charge us more $$ cause we have a rep for DUI)

Lol you make a good point.

 

[PMedMoe]

I don't think this has been brought up in this forum.  I did do a search but only got a comment related to provincial taxes in general. I apologize for bringing up old news but I am already sick of paying this tax.  We were told we had to pay it by virtue of the fact that we live in Ontario...well, I'm not here by choice.
Is anyone (I mean at higher levels) trying to stop military members from paying this tax?
I sent an email to SCONDVA in reference to this (about 2-3 months ago) and so far no reply. 
My spouse and I are both serving members with NO dependents and we both pay about $600.00 per year.  The Ministry of Finance website states:
"The Ontario Health Premium (OHP) was introduced to help improve health services in the province. Revenues from the OHP will also be invested to enhance preventative health measures and expand mental health services, contributing to a healthier Ontario."
So here we are paying for something that is already covered by the military.  I know John Yakabuski and Cheryl Gallant were both committed to stop this tax for military mbrs living in Ontario.  As a matter of fact, when I was still in Petawawa, Gallant had something on the radio about how we were being compensated for it.  I immediately called her office to question this and was told by a staff member that Gallant had been told at a meeting in Ottawa, that we were getting living differential allowances.  I told her that was not true.
We, as military members, are not supposed to pay for health care.  We fall under Federal legislation as detailed in the Canada Health Act:
"The federal government is responsible for:
- setting and administering national principles or standards for the health care system through the Canada Health Act;
- assisting in the financing of provincial health care services through fiscal transfers;
- delivering direct health services to specific groups including veterans, native Canadians living on reserves, military personnel, inmates of federal penitentiaries and  the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and
- fulfilling other health-related functions such as health protection, disease prevention and health promotion."

Any thoughts?

 

[gaspasser]

    Pardon me if I'm wrong, and I hope I am.  OHP is a blanket coverage tax for all Ontarions including military personal with or without dependants. But I don't think we paid it when I was in Petawawa some years ago, I believe it's just new for all above a certain income bracket to pay and is no longer voluntary.  I think it's like Mess dues, you gotta pay. I strongly believe also that is is one way for the well off to pay for the not so well off.  (Read Employment insurance benefits that we can never ever claim)  It would be nice to get away from it but then who would pay medical expences for my family?  The military only covers me.  PHSCP(?) and Great West Life covers the family's medical and dental, so are we double paying or is someone double dipping?
As a side note: many bases are now getting dependant medical clinics like they/ you have in Kingston.

 

[PMedMoe]

As far as I know, we don't have a dependant medical clinic in Kingston.  There is the FRC that runs Flu Clinics and the like, but I don't know about doctors.
They also have the Health Tax in B.C. (I believe) but military mbrs pay for dependants only.  My brother-in-law did the same thing when he was in Moose Jaw, SK.  We are not paying OHIP, we are paying a heath care premium (read tax).
No offense, but why should I pay medical expenses for someone else's family??
Mess dues are implemented by the military and everyone pays them (with very few exceptions), however, health taxes are only paid by people living in certain provinces.  As I said, I didn't choose to live here, this is where the military put me.  How is that just?
If the province really wants people to pay for health care improvements, why don't they charge idiots who go to the ER or call an ambulance when they have a hangnail??? Okay, that's a little extreme but when I worked in the ER in Toronto, we had a girl come into emergency for a pregnancy test (they do them free at clinics) and didn't even stick around for the results, thereby wasting a lot of people's time!!

 

[spud]

As far as I know, we don't have a dependant medical clinic in Kingston.  There is the FRC that runs Flu Clinics and the like, but I don't know about doctors.

There is a family clinic as well at the MRFC, they have several doctors who see patients there.


potato

 

[kincanucks]

As far as I know, we don't have a dependant medical clinic in Kingston.

So much for Situational Awareness.  The Clinic for dependants has been running for nearly three years now.

 

[niner domestic]

There is also one in Trenton, which was signed off on in August 2006.  http://www.trentonmfrc.cfbtrenton.com/index.php?menu=4&submenu=6

 

[Redeye]

You wouldn't have paid it a few years ago because it was only brought in a couple of years ago when Dalton McGuinty took the reins.  It's a blatant rip off for Reg F types to have to pay since they're not covered.  Of course, having to pay into EI is a rip off too, but the whole point of insurance is that everyone pays in a little bit anyhow.

The health premium wouldn't have sat so badly as it did if they didn't cut a lot of services out of the coverage when they jacked up the price!

     Pardon me if I'm wrong, and I hope I am.  OHP is a blanket coverage tax for all Ontarions including military personal with or without dependants. But I don't think we paid it when I was in Petawawa some years ago, I believe it's just new for all above a certain income bracket to pay and is no longer voluntary.  I think it's like Mess dues, you gotta pay. I strongly believe also that is is one way for the well off to pay for the not so well off.  (Read Employment insurance benefits that we can never ever claim)  It would be nice to get away from it but then who would pay medical expences for my family?  The military only covers me.  PHSCP(?) and Great West Life covers the family's medical and dental, so are we double paying or is someone double dipping?
As a side note: many bases are now getting dependant medical clinics like they/ you have in Kingston.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I know this has a lengthy thread somewhere because I remember telling people tp stop whining............you say that its not fair because we're military, etc.

Just what happens when you get in a car accident in Guelph, do ya think you have to survive an ambulance ride to Borden in critical condition?

 

[gaspasser]

There is also one in Trenton, which was signed off on in August 2006.  http://www.trentonmfrc.cfbtrenton.com/index.php?menu=4&submenu=6

And they are still looking for a doctor. It is just around the corner from me and there is no business yet.  So it's not actually "open". 
So, back to the original post of this thread: why are we, the military, paying OHIP when it doesn't really cover us?  It sort of covers our dependants but PSHCP covers them too.  I smell double dipping here and we're the poor smucks paying it!

 

[gaspasser]

I know this has a lengthy thread somewhere because I remember telling people tp stop whining............you say that its not fair because we're military, etc.

Just what happens when you get in a car accident in Guelph, do ya think you have to survive an ambulance ride to Borden in critical condition?

I believe the military will cover the costs of your ambulance ride and medical costs and PSHCP covers your spouse and dependants. I was once home on leave and had to go the the hospital emergency, all I needed was my ID card and leave pass and I was good to go for service.

 

[glenndon]

I believe the military will cover the costs of your ambulance ride and medical costs and PSHCP covers your spouse and dependants. I was once home on leave and had to go the the hospital emergency, all I needed was my ID card and leave pass and I was good to go for service.

Not the point.

We aren't the primary customers for Ontario Health Services.  We (the military, federal government, etc. . ) don't pay to have the services sitting there at a moments notice.  So when any of us in CFB Kingston get injured after 1600 and the base hospital is closed, then we get to go to Kingston General Hospital, wait a few hours, and get taken care of.  (Or when 33 Health Services is on minimum manning due to I would think a Christmas Dinner. . .)  So yes, in the end the military will pay for YOUR individual service, but the Provincial Government will pay to have those doc's on stand-by all the time.


As mentioned above, if they wouldn't have cut services when the raised the prices it would sit a lot nicer with me. . . 

 

[PMedMoe]

As far as I know, we don't have a dependant medical clinic in Kingston.

So much for Situational Awareness.  The Clinic for dependants has been running for nearly three years now.

Pardon me, I just got here this summer.

 

[gaspasser]

No it is not run by the military, it's run by the MFRC and it's just down the hall from where you cleared in.

 

[PMedMoe]

I know this has a lengthy thread somewhere because I remember telling people tp stop whining............you say that its not fair because we're military, etc.

Wouldn't bother me a bit if everyone else had to pay it.

 

[Armymedic]

Its been discussed at length....Thanks for bringing it up again.

IF we as a CF did not use any civilian facility paid for by the people of Ontario, then possibly we would have a leg to stand on. IN reality because of the downsizing of the CF and the CF medical services, we are now quite dependant on the provincial system to provide our soldier the standard of care that is required. In Ottawa alone, we share facilities and staff in both the Civic and Montfort hosp, as well as office spaces, specialists and MRI machines from provincially funded sources.

This is part of the reason, the other is because it is a provincially legislated tax which we must by law as residents must pay. Many higher paid and smarter people have looked into it, and still say we must.

We do have a COA: Get the Ont Conservatives to remove it once they get elected.

Edit: see this thread:
MY EDIT: Merged with this one. ;D