Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government used its majority Wednesday to pass Bill 7, controversial legislation that could temporarily force hospital patients awaiting long-term care into nursing homes they don’t choose.
The government has faced criticism for the vague wording of the legislation and that it chose not to send the draft law to committee, meaning no public comment was collected before it was passed. None of the opposition parties supported the bill.
Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra has said the government moved to avoid the committee stage because of the urgent need to free up acute care beds in hospitals, which have faced pressures without precedents in recent months, largely due to the shortage of nurses.
Calandra said sending patients who need an “alternative level of care” to long-term care homes will help ease that burden. According to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), there were 5,930 alternative level of care patients (those deemed to no longer need acute care) in the hospital on August 17, of which the 40% expected a space. in long-term care.
The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care facility, but it is unclear what would happen if a patient refuses the move. Critics have said a patient who doesn’t move could be forced to pay the uninsured rate for a hospital stay, which can be as much as $1,800 a day.
Speaking Tuesday, however, Premier Doug Ford said an $1,800 fee under the circumstances would be “absolutely ridiculous,” but said hospitals and Ontario Health are determining what the billing amount could be.
“We have to calculate a cost and the hospitals have to calculate the cost,” he said. “People are determining that, it’s not me personally… But I can assure you it’s not going to be $1,800.”
Another unanswered question is how far from their homes patients will be able to move under the parameters of the bill. The opposition NDP and Liberals have repeatedly alleged that in northern Ontario, patients could be moved up to 300 km from their homes. Meanwhile, patients in most of southern Ontario could be moved up to 100 km away and those in cities up to 30 km from their homes.
Calandra and his ministry have declined to respond with any specific information on distances, saying those elements of the legislation are still under discussion with stakeholders. Calandra has said, however, that every effort will be made to keep patients “as close as possible” to their families and support systems.
The minister has promised that the regulations supporting Bill 7, called the More Beds, Better Care Act, will be introduced to the legislature within a week of the bill’s passage.
The legislation is part of a wider plan first announced two weeks ago by Health Minister Sylvia Jones to help ease pressures on the health system. The proposed changes aim to hire more healthcare professionals, free up hospital beds and reduce surgical waiting lists.
Anthony Dale, president and CEO of the OHA, previously told CBC Toronto that he supports the passage of the law, noting that the current number of patients in the alternative level of care is higher than the province has ever seen.
Dale said capacity challenges affect all patients, including those who need urgent care, surgical procedures and diagnostics.
“Hospitals in Ontario are quickly becoming the health care provider of last resort for thousands of people who really need access to home care, long-term care and other services. This is not right for these patients,” he said.
Neither Calandra nor Health Minister Sylvia Jones were made available to answer media questions after Wednesday’s session of the legislature.