The Department of Health and Community Services is notifying patients that require cataract surgery that the procedure is covered under MCP. Physicians in this province are not permitted to bill you directly for services covered by MCP.

Also, as per the Medical Care and Hospital Insurance Act and Regulations, cataract surgery is not permitted to be conducted outside a hospital.

The department regularly reports to the public on wait times for a number of surgical procedures. A wait time is the length of time between the date a patient agrees to a procedure and is placed on the wait list, to the date when they receive the service they were waiting for.

The most recently reported wait time for cataract surgery in this province shows that 50 per cent of surgeries are completed within 65 days, and 90 per cent of surgeries are done within 112 days. Wait time benchmarks can be found at www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/wait_times/Q2_16_17/waittime-data_q1q2_16-17.html.

Residents are asked to contact the Cataract Surgery Information Line at 1-833-253-8491 if:

• You have had cataract surgery at a facility outside of a hospital or been told you can; or
• If you have been asked to pay directly for a medical service covered by MCP.

Please be prepared to leave a message, including your name and a contact number at which you can be reached for further information. Calls will be returned within three business days.

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Media contact
Emily Timmins
Health and Community Services
709-729-6986, 693-1292
emilytimmins@gov.nl.ca