Ontario sets official end date of July 1 for red-and-white health cards

It’s officially time to say goodbye to the old, red-and-white health card.

Ontario has finally set an end date of July 1, 2020, for when the cards can no longer be used.

It comes more than 25 years after the province first announced those cards would be phased out.

The province says starting this month, residents with red-and-white health cards will begin to receive letters letting them know that they will need to get a photo health card at a ServiceOntario centre before the deadline.

According to The Canadian Press, there are still about 300,000 cards in circulation, representing about two per cent of all Ontario health cards.

Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott says the old cards are more susceptible to fraud than the newer cards, which feature a photo and a signature.

“The advanced security features of the photo health card help protect our public health system and is another measure to improve value for taxpayers’ dollars,” said Elliott in a news release. “While there is no cost to convert or renew an Ontario photo health card, there could be significant costs by allowing red and white health cards, which could be used fraudulently, to remain in circulation. Each month, individuals using these outdated cards access up to $108 million in health services.”

The province says red-and-white cardholders who do not convert by the July deadline may be asked to pay up-front for insured health services. Once they do receive a photo health card, those charges will be reimbursed.

For more information about how to switch to a photo health card, click here.