Ontario puts brakes on pay-for-ultrasound service

The Ontario government moved quickly on Thursday to outlaw a mobile medical diagnostic clinic that was set to travel to the province from the United States.

Life Line Screening offers ultrasound procedures to patients who pay fees of up to $200.

The company had already booked appointments with customers in Hamilton, Niagara and Windsor.

The ultrasounds are advertised as a method of detecting blood vessel defects that could lead to strokes.

Critics called the service a direct challenge to the Canada Health Act, which guarantees all Canadians equal access to essential medical procedures, regardless of whether they can afford to pay for them.

And in a pre-emptive strike, the Ontario cabinet rushed new legislation into law Thursday that made the service offered by Life Line illegal, and punishable by steep fines.

Under the newly passed terms of the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, companies that bill an Ontario resident for a service they are entitled to at no charge under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan could be fined up to $25,000.

Individuals who offer OHIP-covered services for an extra fee can now be fined $10,000.