An emergency in the making: Ending pandemic prenatal health coverage for uninsured people is both costly and dangerous

Research shows that uninsured people are more likely to get care later in pregnancy, and less care overall. This increases risks for mothers and babies. (Shutterstock)

On March 31, 2023 the Ford government in Ontario ended the expanded health-care funding it put in place when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

This funding allowed everyone in Ontario to access essential health care. For the hundreds of thousands of people living in the province without health insurance, this meant access to necessary surgeries, emergency care and labour and delivery services without thousands of dollars in hospital and physician bills.