MPP wants OHIP to cover prostate cancer screening tests
Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates says people should not have to pay to be screened for prostate cancer.
The New Democrat held a news conference Tuesday morning at Queen’s Park to discuss his private member’s motion to always have PSA testing covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
Gates said Ontario is one of only two Canadian provinces that does not cover the cost of prostate-specific antigen screening for men upon physician referral.
The province will pay for the test if a doctor suspects prostate cancer or if a patient has been diagnosed with the disease and is receiving treatment.
Gates was joined by supporters, including Stuart Edmonds, vice-president of research, health promotion and survivorship with Prostate Cancer Canada, and Todd Minerson, country director for Movember Canada.
“(Coverage is) something that is long overdue,” Gates said in an interview. Edmonds credited the MPP for “taking this step.”
He said Prostate Cancer Canada — a charity addressing prostatecancer needs across the country — met with Gates about this time last year to start talking about such issues.
“The reason why we think it’s important is, with prostate cancerit’s a disease that affects many men each year and if it’s detected early the survival is close to 100 per cent, but if it’s detected too late, then three out of four men will pass away because of the disease.”
He described the PSA test as the “entry point” in the early-detection process.
“It serves as a red flag to tell us when there’s something wrong with the prostate and, without that test, that simply won’t happen and our fear is that men are going to get diagnosed too late where, actually, we can’t prevent the loss of life.”
Edmonds said the cost to take the test is about $35 to $50. While that may not be too expensive for some people, it may be for others.
“It shouldn’t be just a test that can be afforded by people that have the money to pay for it.”
In researching the topic, Gates said he not only learned about the benefits of the test, but how the province could save money by covering it.
“If we did this … we could probably get the cost of the testing down to about $14, which is about $6 million a year — that would be the cost of the program,” said Gates.
He said the cost to treat people living with Stage 4 prostate cancer is close to $60 million a year.