Ontario and Manitoba: Voluntary Non-Profit or Commercial Plans?

Both Ontario and Manitoba had Blue Crossplans that covered a large proportion of their populations. Starting with 22,000 subscribers in 1939, the Manitoba plan had 415,000 by 1958 when the province joined the national hospital insurance and diagnostic services program and Manitoba Blue Cross disbanded. In Ontario, similar growth resulted in 2,250,000 Blue Cross subscribers by 1958 but, with the introduction of the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan in 1959, Blue Cross shifted its focus to offer prepayment options for semi-private care, extended health care, prescription drugs, dental care and other benefits. By 1970, the plan covered 3.5 million Ontarians. In addition to these voluntary, non-profit plans, Ontario, like the other provinces, had a range of private, insurance-company sponsored contracts available for purchase. But many of these had vital flaws that left policyholders facing huge debts for hospital care.

Hospital insurance did not cover doctors’ fees. This 1951 poster advertises the benefits of Associated Medical Services Inc., a pre-paid insurance plan available in Ontario.
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, Associated Medical Services Inc.

Transcription:
Hospital Coverage Is Not Enough!
Here is a typical charge on an appendectomy:
Hospitalization = $76.45
Doctors’ Charges
Surgeon - $100.00
Anaesthetist - 15.00
Assistant Surgeon - 15.00
Total - $130.00