Lakehead University researchers want mental health providers to be covered under OHIP.
Drs. Deborah Scharf and Kirsten Oinonen are both registered clinical psychologists. They argue Ontario’s COVID-19 response keeps people from getting appropriate mental health care.
They say psychologists and other mental health workers can’t bill their services to OHIP, but the province has let family doctors provide counselling during the pandemic.
In May, the federal government earmarked $240 million to support online mental healthcare and medical services.
Scharf and Oinonen say the current system prevents patients from being able to afford mental healthcare and forces them to rely on family doctors who aren’t trained for these specialized services. The researchers claim that also puts extra strain on the physicians themselves.
