This was the third case in as many weeks of the province reportedly having no beds available for a patient abroad
An elderly Ontario man hospitalized in the US was stuck for over a week because his insurance provider could find no beds available in his home province — a claim that was disputed by the provincial health minister.
On March 12, 83-year-old Todd Hrabchak was admitted to the Englewood Community Hospital, close to the couple's winter home on Florida's west coast, reported CBC News. An infected cut on his shin had made it impossible for him to stand or walk.
Upon arriving at the hospital, he was “shaking, shivering and losing his mind,” said his wife Lillian. Antibiotic treatment took care of the pain and fever, though Hrabchak remains weak and has been informed he may need a pacemaker because of some complications.
Through it all, Lillian was in daily contact with Allianz Global Assistance, a third-party administrator for Sun Life that provides her insurance. She attempted to get her husband home and into a Toronto hospital bed, for several days, but Allianz told her it could not find one.
“A bed must be available prior to arranging transportation home,” Sun Life told CBC News via email during the ordeal. “From time-to-time patients may need to wait for a hospital bed to become available.”
The company added that it “sympathizes with Mr. Hrabchak's situation and is doing everything [it] can to ensure he receives the quality care required.”
This was the third case in as many weeks of an Ontario resident being stuck in a foreign hospital because the insurer could not find a bed in their home province. When asked about it at the time, Ontario Health Minister Helena Jaczek said there “appears to be a gap in the way that travel insurance companies locate hospital beds in Ontario.”
“We know that there are beds available for critical care patients in Ontario,” she said in a statement. “Travel insurers must work with our healthcare system, as patients abroad rely on their due diligence to engage our robust network of hospitals here at home.”
On Wednesday, the Hrabchaks were finally able to fly to Toronto and, upon arriving, proceed to St. Joseph’s Hospital. Todd was then transferred to Providence Healthcare Centre.
“I am happy to have opened a can of worms regarding this matter," Lillian wrote in a letter to Sun Life, which she shared with CBC News. “Regardless of my delight at our return home, I must express my dismay with the mishandling of our claim. Todd should have been home days ago.”
Jaczek said she has reached out to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) to ask for a meeting on the recent delays. The province and the insurance industry have yet to decide on a date and time.
