Canadian Association of Optometrists reposted this
Last week we reacted promptly to the Federal #Budget announcement that the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program was being expanded to invaluable healthcare allies but continued to exclude many professionals, including #optometrists. We wrote a letter directly to the responsible Minister, The Hon. Randy Boissonnault PC, MP, on behalf of CAO. "... We urge the Federal government to acknowledge vision care as an integral part of overall health, and support access to optometrists in rural and remote communities. As primary eye care providers at the front line of vision health, optometrists play an integral role in the provision of timely health services and the overall wellbeing of Canadians. More than 1.2 million Canadians live with vision loss today, and over 8 million Canadians live with one of the four major eye diseases. Blinding diseases affect older adults (55+) at much higher rates, and as Canada’s population ages, the number of individuals affected by vision impairment will rise. However, 75 per cent of visual impairment is avoidable if detected and treated early. In 2019, the total cost of vision loss in Canada was $32.9 billion, resulting in 9.5 billion in direct health system costs. This consists of a total financial cost of $15.6 billion and a lost well-being cost of $17.4 billion, and is expected to grow to $56 billion by 2050. Yet, studies have shown that early access to diagnosis and treatment saves money in the long run. The federal government has a significant opportunity to act now by including optometrists in the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness Program to effectively address the access to care challenges faced by people who live in rural, remote or sparsely populated areas..." We also issued a joint statement along with our Extended Health Professionals Coalition (EHPC) partners: https://lnkd.in/gJNRT2TZ