The Ford government is taking the next steps in its plan to increase the role of privately operated health-care centres in the provincial system, opening applications for orthopedic surgeries.

The move comes a few days after the province announced licences for 57 privately operated MRI, CT scan and endoscopy clinics.

While the new centres allow private and for-profit operators to work within the public system, the government has stressed that services will continue to be covered by provincial health insurance.

Specifically, any centres that receive licences won’t be allowed to refuse to treat someone for an OHIP-covered service if they don’t buy an upgrade. They also won’t be allowed to charge fees to receive insured services faster.

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“Our government is taking bold action to protect Ontario and boost access to publicly funded surgeries and diagnostic imaging so families can conveniently access the care they need sooner and closer to home,” Health Minister Sylvia Jones said in a statement.

The latest move means applications are open for orthopedic surgery centres to apply for licences. The government will spend $125 million in public money to support the move, which it hopes will add 20,000 surgeries to the system over two years.

The Ford government started work on its major health-care system shakeup with legislation tabled at the beginning of 2023. The law was passed in May of that year.

The legislation — Bill 60 — was introduced by the Ford government to cut waiting times. It laid out a long-term blueprint that would slowly shift how some health services are delivered.

It set out to expand the number of cataract surgeries, diagnostic imaging and testing operations taking place in private clinics, with the long-term goal of creating a new system to perform hip- and knee-replacement surgeries.

The number of surgeries rerouted to the private sector was initially relatively low, while licences were granted. In the 2022-23 year, roughly 24,500 surgeries — or four per cent — took place in community clinics.

Before the Ford government introduced its changes, there were roughly 900 private clinics in the province, mainly offering diagnostics, imaging and testing.

— with files from The Canadian Press

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