The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WHITBY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY, AJ'RIL 12.1978, PAGE 5 Report from Queen's Park Ey G>enp At, M.P.P. 0112 Premiums By far the most controversial item announced i the 1978/79 Provincial Bludget on Mardi 71h, was the increase in 0111? premiums by $6.00 per moth for a singleperson and $12 permonth for a famnily subsotiber,, effective6 as of May lst, 1978 for August lat coverage. The newlevel' of premniumns means a per day cost of $1 .44 for a fgmily andi .72e for a single person., Thiis was a"difficuit dçtcison tol iake, and one that, was not, finalized until'a great deal of study was held on Îhe alternatives to .raising the premniums. I October of 1969, following prolonged dispute with the federal governiment over their national medicare legislation, the Government. of Ontarlo introdu.ced a universal public medical plan. In Aprfl of 1972, this medical plan was amnalgamnated with the. universal hospital insurance plan established ini partncrshlp with the federal government i 1959, to becomne the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (0H11'). 11Since that tume, this freely accessible health care lias led to a greatly increased use of healîli service facilities. As a resuit, the cost of provi4jng the services lias goie Up con.> siderably. In 1970-71, insuranceé premniums paid 'for 50%' of the cost of the health, service bih. Lastyear, premiums only paid 21% of the total bull. With the recently announced increase, il is estimated prempiumrs will cover 28.4% of the total bill, or approxiniately one-third of the doctor/hospital portion of the' healîli bill. This amount is in line with recornmen- dations put forward by the Joint Advisory Committee on ?vethods 10 Control Heaith Cost§. As an alternative to raising premniums, the Province con- sidered taxing corporations 10 offset the health deficits. However, such a move would result in Ontario companies having even more difficulty competing and could lead 10 more unemployment. Also considered was a deterrant fe each lime the services were used, but Ibis was rejected be- cause it would only serve to penalize, low incorne groups, and would be ani administrative nightmare 10 implement. As well, other jurisdictions-. using a deterrant fee found that any reduction inilte demand for lte service caused by such a fee was only temporary. Funds could have been obtained from Ontario residents indirectly througli the porsonal incarne tax. However in reality this would flot save you any money, and the Govern- ment of Ontario believes that the very best method of keep- mng healtli costs down is to mnake everyone very aware of the higli costs of provlding the services. Healîli premiums re- main the only direct link between the use of health services and the cost of providing sucit services. 01' premniums have very littie automatic growth, and therefore must be increased by the Governrent periodically in order 10 ýkeep a balance between lte çost of'the service and the use of the service. For exarnple, in 1970,,il cost about $54 per day 10 stay in a hospital. Last year the aver- age cost was about $144 per day. On the medical side, in 19,72 there were 32 million dlaims fîled under the Plan (average of 4 dlaims per person> wliereas in 1977 there were sorne 53 million dlaims flled (average of 6 claims per person)., I order 10 keep the cost of healtit services down, the Government is reducing the empliasis on traditional healîli care institutions sucit as hospitals, and shifting some of the financial resources 10 alternative miethods- of trealment, such as day surgery, out-patients treatment, home care for people, with acute ilesses, and extended care in nursing homes; attemtping 10 decentralize te process of healh care plan- ning so that more of te work is donc in ecd comrnunity by the people who 'are most aware of lhe local needs and resources; and finally, hlas inltiated a public education program n npreventive caue and minor treatlment. The Ontauio Government remains comrnitted to the pro- vision of higli quali ty heiltli care for .11 the people of Ontario. The increase in premlums will be borne mostly by employers lhrough benefit packages, and the, Govern- ment wiIl as the same lime expand ils subsidy to OH!? by, $15 million in order 10 reduce the impact ofpremlums.on low income persns. Il is estimnated that approximalely 140,000 more people wiil benefit from Ibis additional sub- sidy, making a total of 1.8 million Ontarians receiving ful premnium assistance, and 60,000 receiving partial premnium assistance. Fundament al changes are required in the deivery of health services if future costs of heallt care are 10 be curbed. We in the Government believethw ie best way 10, realize.: We in tie Government believethat tie best way 10 reahize cosl savings 1510o reduce the strain 'on the services, which can hol b accomplished with the cooperalion, of the public. Direct contribution by way of a premium iîs surely the mosl effective method of encouraging the frugal use of Ontario's health care facilities. Corridor ~j.Capers April is Cancer Montli. A Canadian Cancer Society volunteer wil call at your home this nonth. Hats off to the volunteer workers, who 80 generously donate- their tine, and efforts to assiat the Cancer Society. _Cancer can and wil b. .beaten. Welcome your volunteer canvasser. You can help fight cancer with your prayers and your support. Give generously. The life that is saved, could very well be your own. ROD AND GUN CLUB. Everett Crosby, Rosaad Rd., Whitby was the winner of the 'best trap shooter' award in the gun competition held recently. Wlnnlng awards is nothing new to Mr. Çrosby. Oiver the. past few years, he hias been the recipient,, of a great. nuiberof sucli awards. His recreation room wall reveals a huge showcase of bis manyaccompliali- ments in the fields of sportsmansbip and markmanshin. Lades M nsan*Cilae s ea SYD ILVE FOR AL RNTAL 32'BOK T.S WH TBY PA lA668346 Ask us ConeaboutyoF %u Creand tell us what you're lookiing for in a job. Tell us what you are today and what you want to-be tomorrow. Ask us if we can offer opportunities and challenges to match your needs. No obligations on either side. We'il b. glad to talk. And we may have îust what you're tooking for. But you'll neyer know until you ask. Visit or MoUd.Re-rltngUnt C.mu~Mmmpower Contre OSHIAWA AprII12,#19, 26# 1978 10:*00 &IL. m 3:00 p... Best of luck in future events. BASEBALLREGISTRATION There is stiil tume to register for the current basebal season. Saturday,april 15, registration will take palce at the Brooklln Community Centre and the Whitby Public Library. If this date is inconvient, mail your request to Gord Jubenville (registràr), 9 Dymond Drive ini Whitby. Don't delay if you plan to mail your forms. The extra 2cents postage Is, undoubtedly .,fo r storage.' T-Ball is $10.00,house league - $12.00, withan additional $5.00 for the Ail-Star players, - ramily registration (for more than. 2 boys) is' $2500. WESTMINSTER UNITED, CHURCH. WEDNESDAY APRIL 12 >Meeting atthe Churcli tgo review the plans of Manning M ews. BAPTISM - Infant Baptism will ho conducted on Sunday, April 30> Interested parents are requested to contact Rev. Mclwai.n. U.C.S. SPRING TEA -the Spring Tea *wil ho beld on April 27 at 1:,15 p.m., eaturing Mary Liako, the Happy Cooker. Get your tickets from a U.C.W. mnember and invite'a CORPORATION 0F THE TOWN,,0F WHITBY CONTRACT W78-7 REPAIRS TO CENTENNIAL 9UILDING Tenders will be received bythe undersigncd until 2:00 p.m., THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1978, for repairs to the Centennial Building. Specifications and tender forms are availaîbe at the Treasury Deparîment, Town- of Whitby, 575 Rossland Road East, Wh*tby, 'Ontarlo. Telephone 668-5803, exten- sion137.ý Itowest or any tender flot necessarily accepted. R. A. CLARINGBOLD,1 DeuyTreasurer, Town of Whitby. T.V. Hod a Nord Win'ter?:I *Picture??0 'O : April Tune Up Spedali * * Clean & adjust tuner & ail * contrQIs * * Minor colour set up * * Check & adjust focus : Y $.v 12-u fCoosr Plus Parts 17 $8 a>Iw 0%s perts * Free EstimatesI :Brooklin T.V."N Radio: * SALES & SERVICE fri'end. OSHAWA PRESBYTERY meets April 18 at Seugog' United Church, 7 p.ra. The Conference President,,the Rey. BaSil Long, will address the*.Court. BAZAAR WORK 13EE - Do you- know anyone who bas a qult ho ho quilted? The ladies are willig to work on another., NEXT SUNDAY'S SERMON: - "The Road frodtle Cross: 3. Freeway < Now 'Open. CORRIDOR- RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION. The next executive oeting will be held on Thursday, April 20 at 125 Northview . Avenue, at 7:30 p.m Thank you for your calîs with, news items. Keep the phones hopping, with items for the colunin. Have agoodweek. SM.McEachern. 725-897 Got the -blues? Want to get away'tM iali? Take a wall WaIk'a-block.Today. Guaranteed Investment Certificates Interest Poid Annually Member Canada Deposit n Insurance Corporation VIC7ORfl4 uGREY TRUST COMPANY SINCE 1889 KEITH -LAWS Manager 308 Dundas St. W., Whitby