Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government passed legislation Wednesday that would force hospital patients awaiting long-term care into nursing homes not of their choice on a temporary basis, but many details of the new law remain unknown.
Patients who refuse to move to long-term care are expected to incur a fee, though it’s unclear how much.  But Premier Doug Ford said they would not be charged an uninsured rate of $1,800 a day.
Ford said the legislation is aimed at providing appropriate care to these patients.
“It’s not about cost, it’s about providing proper health care to people who should be in long-term care,” he told the Legislature.
NDP Leader Peter Tabuns said the new law will harm seniors and cause unnecessary pain.
“It’s very clear: people are going to be bullied, they’re going to get huge bills, they’re going to be kicked out the door,” he said.
Neither Long-Term Care Secretary Paul Calandra nor Health Secretary Sylvia Jones spoke to reporters after the bill was passed.
Calandra’s office did not immediately respond to several questions seeking clarity on the new law.  The province also declined to answer questions about how far patients could be moved from their families.
Earlier in the day, Calandra scoffed at the idea that hospitals would overcharge patients who refuse to move to a nursing home they don’t choose.
“(The Opposition) is talking about huge payoffs – it’s not true,” he said in question period.
The province quickly pushed through Bill 7 as part of its efforts to address an ongoing health care crisis, moving earlier this week to bypass public hearings on the legislation.
Hospital emergency departments have been closed for hours or days at a time in recent months, largely due to a shortage of nurses.
The province says there are about 6,000 patients at the hospital who need an “alternative level of care” and need to be discharged.  Among those patients, about 1,800 are on a waiting list for long-term care homes, the province said.
The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses the move.
Hospitals can already charge alternative-level-of-care patients a copayment of $62 a day, which advocates say is about what they would pay in long-term care.
Seniors and longtime health care advocates have said uninsured hospital rates can be more than $1,800 a day.
Ford said this amount is “absolutely ridiculous”.  He said hospitals and Ontario Health determine the costs patients will have to pay.
“I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be $1,800,” Ford said Tuesday night.  “We just want these patients to go to an appropriate setting that’s just better for them.”
The province said those costs will likely be released next week.
The new bill focuses on patients who are well enough to leave a hospital at an “alternative level of care”.  The legislation would allow “certain actions to be carried out without the consent of these patients”.  These actions include allowing a placement coordinator to select and authorize entry into a home.
However, the bill says “actions cannot be carried out without first making reasonable efforts to obtain the patient’s consent”.  It also says that it “does not allow the use of constraints to perform actions or physical transport.”
Several organizations have asked the Ontario Human Rights Commission to use its public inquiry powers to “investigate systemic age discrimination against older people in the delivery of health care in Ontario.”
“Under the Ford government’s new legislation, frail, vulnerable seniors have been targeted, eliminating their human right to informed consent for health care,” Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, wrote in a statement.
“This is a fundamental issue of justice.  Elderly patients do not receive undue resources more than other patients.  It is the cruelty of the elderly that has been exposed and the Ontario Human Rights Commission must finally take action.”
The new law and how quickly it moved through the Legislature is frightening, said Jane Meadus, an attorney with the Center for Seniors Advocacy, which fights for the rights of those in long-term care homes, hospitals and mental facilities.
“It’s a very sad time when the government is taking steps like this to try to fix problems that shouldn’t be there in the first place because of underfunding and poor planning in the health system,” Meadus said.
“It will create a lot of problems and a lot of burdens on people.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 31, 2022.

title: “Ltc Bill Passed Hospital Patients Who Refuse To Move Won T Pay 1 800 Day Ford Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-24” author: “Irene Stith”

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government passed legislation Wednesday that would force hospital patients awaiting long-term care into nursing homes not of their choice on a temporary basis, but many details of the new law remain unknown.
Patients who refuse to move to long-term care are expected to incur a fee, though it’s unclear how much.  But Premier Doug Ford said they would not be charged an uninsured rate of $1,800 a day.
Ford said the legislation is aimed at providing appropriate care to these patients.
“It’s not about cost, it’s about providing proper health care to people who should be in long-term care,” he told the Legislature.
NDP Leader Peter Tabuns said the new law will harm seniors and cause unnecessary pain.
“It’s very clear: people are going to be bullied, they’re going to get huge bills, they’re going to be kicked out the door,” he said.
Neither Long-Term Care Secretary Paul Calandra nor Health Secretary Sylvia Jones spoke to reporters after the bill was passed.
Calandra’s office did not immediately respond to several questions seeking clarity on the new law.  The province also declined to answer questions about how far patients could be moved from their families.
Earlier in the day, Calandra scoffed at the idea that hospitals would overcharge patients who refuse to move to a nursing home they don’t choose.
“(The Opposition) is talking about huge payoffs – it’s not true,” he said in question period.
The province quickly pushed through Bill 7 as part of its efforts to address an ongoing health care crisis, moving earlier this week to bypass public hearings on the legislation.
Hospital emergency departments have been closed for hours or days at a time in recent months, largely due to a shortage of nurses.
The province says there are about 6,000 patients at the hospital who need an “alternative level of care” and need to be discharged.  Among those patients, about 1,800 are on a waiting list for long-term care homes, the province said.
The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses the move.
Hospitals can already charge alternative-level-of-care patients a copayment of $62 a day, which advocates say is about what they would pay in long-term care.
Seniors and longtime health care advocates have said uninsured hospital rates can be more than $1,800 a day.
Ford said this amount is “absolutely ridiculous”.  He said hospitals and Ontario Health determine the costs patients will have to pay.
“I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be $1,800,” Ford said Tuesday night.  “We just want these patients to go to an appropriate setting that’s just better for them.”
The province said those costs will likely be released next week.
The new bill focuses on patients who are well enough to leave a hospital at an “alternative level of care”.  The legislation would allow “certain actions to be carried out without the consent of these patients”.  These actions include allowing a placement coordinator to select and authorize entry into a home.
However, the bill says “actions cannot be carried out without first making reasonable efforts to obtain the patient’s consent”.  It also says that it “does not allow the use of constraints to perform actions or physical transport.”
Several organizations have asked the Ontario Human Rights Commission to use its public inquiry powers to “investigate systemic age discrimination against older people in the delivery of health care in Ontario.”
“Under the Ford government’s new legislation, frail, vulnerable seniors have been targeted, eliminating their human right to informed consent for health care,” Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, wrote in a statement.
“This is a fundamental issue of justice.  Elderly patients do not receive undue resources more than other patients.  It is the cruelty of the elderly that has been exposed and the Ontario Human Rights Commission must finally take action.”
The new law and how quickly it moved through the Legislature is frightening, said Jane Meadus, an attorney with the Center for Seniors Advocacy, which fights for the rights of those in long-term care homes, hospitals and mental facilities.
“It’s a very sad time when the government is taking steps like this to try to fix problems that shouldn’t be there in the first place because of underfunding and poor planning in the health system,” Meadus said.
“It will create a lot of problems and a lot of burdens on people.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 31, 2022.