While the Ontario government has provided a health care plan for its citizens for many years now, there is still debate over whether or not they are doing enough for health care overall, particularly in comparison to the rest of the country. In fact, the auditor general of Ontario, Jim McCarter, released a report this Monday that indicates there are actually a wealth of problems in the current Ontario health care system, from crumbling colleges to inaccurate property tax assessments to unnecessary stays in the hospital.McCarter focused much of his assessment on the state of health care in Ontario, and he discovered that at least 50,000 patients in Ontario had stayed in hospitals for longer than they needed to in the year 2009 because there were not nearly enough home care services and long term care beds. McCarter indicated that this problem is only likely to keep growing as people in Ontario inevitably become older.McCarter stated that 13 per cent of the population of Ontario is made up of people who are 65 years of age or older, but almost 60 percent of the days patients spend in hospitals in Ontario are consumed by people over the age of 65. Furthermore, in the next two decades, there are expected to be twice as many seniors in the Ontario area as there are today.These results suggest the Ontario government is not doing nearly enough to provide for the health care of its citizens. Last year, about half of the patients in Ontario hospitals who could have been released from those hospitals to receive additional care at home were required to stay for at least six more days, on average, in hospitals, before they became eligible to receive health services.Wait times within hospitals were found to be another area of concern in Ontario health care. The assessment by McCarter found that there are still a lot of people who are receiving delayed service and having to suffer through extended waiting times in emergency rooms in Ontario hospitals because of the trouble the hospitals have in freeing up beds of patients still in the hospital.In fact, some people who had serious conditions that required emergency care and assistance still had to wait for up to 12 hours before they could receive proper medical care. The goal in such situations is to have patients wait no longer than 8 hours, but they ended up having to wait 50 per cent longer in some cases. The province of Ontario has already spent in excess of $200 million between 2008 and 2010 in their efforts to improve the wait times in emergency rooms.With such deficits in the condition of Ontario health care, it is no surprise that people have begun to look into private health insurance options such as an individual Ontario health insurance plan. It simply is not right for people to have to spend extra time in hospitals and away from their families due to bureaucracy on the part of the Ontario government. A change is clearly needed, but it is unclear as to how long it will take before this change is put into place.
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What Are The Penalties For Driving With No Car Insurance?
1. Driving banIn some developing countries, it is allowed to drive without insurance since all you need is a valid driver license. However, most developed countries do not allow their citizens to drive cars without having coverage from car insurance companies. As a matter of fact, driving without insurance can be considered a serious offense. The most common consequence is penalty points on driving records, fine and driving ban.2. Problems with expired insuranceThere is no excuse for driving without insurance. You cannot even blame the insurance company for failing to notify you about any expired policy. When the vehicle is in use while you don’t have valid insurance policy that covers you and the car, the offense basically has been committed on the road. Your insurance company has no obligation to notify about policy expiration. You cannot involve the insurer in your circumstances. In this case, you will still be convicted, but there is probably mitigation. Your insurance company will play its parts by electronically notifying the DMV anytime your insurance is cancelled, reinstated, or you get new coverage, but not about policy expiration.3. Comprehensive coverageAs mentioned earlier, insurance policies are sold in packages. It means the car, driver, and owner should always be covered by any policy required by the law. The driver and the owner can be two different people, such as when you are borrowing your friend’s car. Despite the fact that the car has comprehensive coverage, you are still not allowed to drive it unless you are insured. If you are caught in such situation, you are considered committing an offense. Additionally, your friend is guilty too for allowing an uninsured driver to use the car.Comprehensive coverage is for the car, not for the person who is driving it; there are some other different policies for driver such as medical payment and liability. Comprehensive covers any damage to the vehicle as long as it is not caused by accidents. Cheap auto insurance quotes do not usually include this coverage because it is actually optional.4. No insurance violationWhen you are pulled over due to any reason, and you cannot show proof of insurance, the police officer may issue ticket for no insurance violation. It only happens if you are actually insured, but you cannot show your insurance card. The ticket can be possibly dismissed if you can produce the insurance card to the police department within the time period informed in the ticket.5. SR-22 requirementsThere are many online websites providing free-of-charge car insurance calculator to help you find the most affordable insurance policies for your circumstances. It means there are very few reasons for not being insured. In case you drive without insurance and cause an accident, you will have to meet SR-22 requirements which basically oblige you to have at least minimum insurance liability in your state. You don’t have to wait until this happens to get insured. An SR-22 document should be kept for usually 3 years even when you move to another state.6. Car is impoundedPurchasing a car means having it insured as well; otherwise the car will be illegal to drive. If the car is not insured at all, it can be impounded. The police are entitled to do so and charge you for driving it on the road. You don’t have to use the best auto insurance companies to avoid this. There are many insurers running their businesses in almost any state, so it should be easy for you to choose one that is suitable for your budget and conditions.7. Multiple offensesYou receive a ticket for driving without insurance and you are summonsed to court. Once again, there is a time period until you can produce proof of insurance to the police department. If you fail to do so within the time period and you are caught again, the police can issue the same ticket. When the time period is up, you basically commit further offense.