Tribunal dismissed complaint against OHIP by MS patient

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has dismissed an application by an Eastern Ontario woman who claimed the Ontario government discriminated against her by refusing to pay for a controversial treatment she received for multiple sclerosis in Egypt.

Judy Butcher, a 49-year-old resident of Jasper, near Merrickville, paid $7,000 for balloon angioplasty at an Egyptian clinic two years ago to open blocked neck veins after the Ontario Health Insurance Plan refused to pay for the treatment.

Sometimes called liberation treatment, the procedure was pioneered by Italian vascular surgeon Paolo Zamboni. It is considered experimental in Canada and is not performed here. But thousands of Canadians have travelled to other countries to obtain it since Zamboni published his findings in 2009.

Butcher was diagnosed with MS in 1996. Before undergoing the Zamboni procedure, the disease had progressed to the point that she was confined to a wheelchair and often in excruciating pain.

But after undergoing the so-called CCSVI (chronic cerebrospina venous insufficiency) treatment, her pain subsided, her circulation improved and she could walk with the aid of a cane. She was even able to regain her drivers licence.

Butcher filed her complaint with the human rights tribunal in February 2011, alleging she had been denied reimbursement by OHIP because of her disability, multiple sclerosis. But her application was deferred pending the outcome of Butchers appeal of OHIPs decision to Ontarios Health Services Appeal and Review Board (HSARB).

In April 2012, that board rejected Butchers appeal. It concluded that Zambonis treatment is considered experimental in Ontario and thus is not an insured service of OHIP.

According to a new Statistics Canada estimate, 100,000 Canadians are living with multiple sclerosis. But New Brunswick is the only province that provides funds to help MS patients get the treatment.

Those who apply can get $2,500 if a community group raises matching funds. In 2011-12, 82 MS patients in New Brunswick were approved for funding, though the number of applications had been declining in recent months.

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Tribunal dismissed complaint against OHIP by MS patient