Shut Down the Fraudulent Clinics, Open up the Insurers' Books Says the Alliance of Community Medical & Rehabilitation Providers

TORONTO (July 14, 2011) – There’s no question that there are fraudulent rehab clinics operating in Ontario, and they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The Alliance of Community Medical and Rehabilitation Providers has been urging the provincial government for more than two years to help the industry clean house.

“We need to get rid of those who cheat the system. We need to ensure that the money available for treatment actually gets to those who really need it,” says Nick Gurevich, President of the Alliance.

The Alliance represents approximately 80 companies, and about 3,500 health care professionals including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, chiropractors, social workers, psychologists and case managers. It is these individuals who are the primary providers of healthcare and other rehabilitative services to Ontarians who are injured in automobile accidents.

The province announced in the last Budget that it would be appointing a taskforce to deal with the pressing issue of auto fraud, and the Alliance has asked the government for a seat on the taskforce.

But beyond fraud, there are other factors contributing to rising premiums and declining benefits. “We believe that there needs to be a comprehensive review, and that government should be examining all of the issues before making patchwork decisions.”

For example, the insurance industry successfully lobbied government for changes to the insurance regulations that, effective last September, significantly reduced benefits to people injured in motor vehicle accidents. This will allow the insurance companies to save millions of dollars a year in payouts to victims.

“The bottomline for drivers is that they’ll be paying the same amount or more in insurance premiums, but they’ll be getting a lot less if they’re injured in a car crash,” Gurevich explains. The insurers convinced Queen’s Park that they needed this relief because they were not profitable enough.

“We maintain that the insurance companies should have to open their books to the public and show detailed financials for their auto insurance operations – for example, how much is spent on assessments, how much on minor injuries, how much on catastrophic injuries. They should have to demonstrate that they’re losing money before they’re allowed to raise rates or slash benefits. We recognize that these companies have to make a profit, but we think the system should be a lot more transparent,” Gurevich says.

With respect to eliminating fraud in the system, the Alliance has several suggestions and recommendations, including:

• requiring that all clinics have at least one owner who is a regulated health professional
• prohibiting referral fees
• requiring that clinicians review all treatment plans with clients
• requiring all clinics and staff to adopt a code of ethics
•  requiring background checks on all clinic owners and staff, including checks with police and regulatory colleges

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For further information, go to www.ontariorehaballiance.com or contact:

Niki Kerimova
PR POST
416-777-0368