Liam Casey, The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, August 31, 2022 12:34 PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, August 31, 2022 3:01 PM EDT
TORONTO – Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government passed legislation Thursday that would force hospital patients awaiting long-term care to be placed temporarily in nursing homes they didn’t choose, but many details of the new law remain unknown.
Patients who refuse to move to long-term care are expected to be charged, though it’s unclear how much. But Premier Doug Ford said they would not be charged the uninsured rate of $1,800 a day.
Ford said the legislation is intended to ensure appropriate care for these patients.
“It’s not about cost, it’s about providing adequate health care to people who need to be in long-term care,” Ford said in question period Thursday.
NDP Leader Peter Tabuns said the new law will hurt seniors and cause unnecessary suffering.
“It’s very clear: people are going to be harassed, they’re going to get huge bills, they’re going to be pushed out the door,” he said.
Neither Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra nor Health Minister Sylvia Jones spoke to reporters after the bill’s passage.
Earlier in the day, Calandra scoffed at the idea that hospitals would overcharge patients who refuse to move into a nursing home they didn’t choose.
“(The opposition) is talking about huge fees, not the case,” he said in the period in question.
The province quickly pushed through Bill 7 as part of its efforts to address the ongoing health care crisis, moving earlier this week to bypass public hearings on the legislation.
Hospital emergency rooms have been closed for hours or days in recent months, largely due to nursing shortages.
The province says there are about 6,000 patients in hospital who need an “alternative level of care” and need to be discharged. Among those patients, about 1,800 are on the waiting list for long-term care homes, the province said.
The new legislation prevents patients from being physically forced to move into a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses a move.
Hospitals can now charge alternative care patients a copay of $62 a day, which advocates say is roughly what they would pay for long-term care.
Seniors and long-term care advocates said hospital uninsured rates could top $1,800 a day.
Ford said that amount was “absolutely ridiculous.” He said hospitals and Ontario Health determine the costs patients will have to pay.
“I can guarantee it won’t be $1,800,” Ford said Wednesday night. “We just want these patients to go to an appropriate environment that’s better for them.”
The province said those costs are likely to be released next week.
The new bill focuses on patients who are well enough to leave hospital for an “alternative level of care”. If passed, the legislation would allow “certain actions to be performed without the consent of those patients.” These actions include allowing a placement coordinator to select and authorize residential placements, according to the bill.
However, the bill says “actions cannot be performed without first making reasonable efforts to obtain the patient’s consent.” It also says it “does not authorize the use of restraints to carry out the acts or the physical transfer.”
Several organizations have asked the Ontario Human Rights Commission to use its public inquiry powers under the Human Rights Code to “investigate systemic age-based discrimination against older people in the provision of health care in Ontario.”
“Under the Ford government’s new legislation, frail, vulnerable seniors have been targeted, removing their human right to informed consent to health care,” Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra said in a statement.
“This is a fundamental issue of justice. Elderly patients do not take excess funds more than other patients. This is the cruelty of ageism exposed and the Ontario Human Rights Commission must finally take action.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 31, 2022.
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