Breaking down new health care funding
JESSICA SMITH CROSS
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — After years of restricting health-care funding growth, the Ontario budget released Thursday promises new money to reduce wait times and increase capacity at overcrowded hospitals, as well as free prescription medication for children and youth. would have been the strictest in 20 years, and possibly unsustainable in the face of a growing and aging population.
The budget indicates $1.3 billion of the new funding will be dedicated to reducing wait times over the next three years.
The biggest surprise policy announcement of the budget is free prescription medication for Ontarians under age 25. The pharmacare program will cover medication for all of the province’s four million children, regardless of their family’s income. It will be most beneficial for families that don’t have work drug plans and aren’t on social assistance.
It will cover the 4,400-plus drugs included in the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, which is used by seniors and those on social assistance. However, children’s caregivers will not have to pay the deductibles and co-pay costs that those groups pay.
The program will cover common childhood medications including antibiotics, asthma inhalers, diabetes medication, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder medication. It also includes oral cancer medication, while hospital-based medication is already free in Ontario.
The pharmacare program is set to begin on Jan. 1, 2018. The cost of its first full year is estimated at $465 million.
Earlier this month, the Ontario NDP announced plans for their own pharmacare program that, if the party is elected, would cover 125 basic medications for Ontarians of all ages.
The budget includes an increase of $518 million in hospital funding, a three-per-cent boost. It comes after hospitals warned of overcrowding and patients being placed in hallways, boardrooms and even cafeterias when there weren’t enough beds. The Ontario Hospital Association had asked for a larger funding increase of 4.9 per cent.
The budget promises an extra $9 billion for hospital construction projects over 10 years, and announced newly approved hospital construction projects in Niagara, Windsor, Hamilton, Mississauga and the Weeneebayko hospital replacement project in northern Ontario, as well as a new $2.5 million for the planning of an expansion to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.
The budget includes $100 million over three years for the province’s new dementia strategy, which will include helping patients and their caregivers find support, and improving training and education for health-care workers in dementia care.
The budget includes an extra $58 million for long-term care homes, a two-per-cent increase. Residents’ food allowance will increase by six per cent, which comes after negative news reports that the province spends more per capita on food for inmates than seniors in long-term care.
The budget also increases funding to Behavioural Supports Ontario by $10 million, which will help longterm care homes handle patients with complex behavioural issues related to dementia.
The budget promises a level of public funding for the new abortion pill Mifegymiso. It will be added to the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, but those who don’t have coverage under the public plan or a private plan will still pay out of pocket for the pill. TORONTO — Ontario’s Liberal government delivered its first balanced budget in a decade on Thursday. Here are five things you need to know about the financial plan: POLITICAL CONTEXT: The $141-billion budget — which includes measures aimed at youth, seniors, parents, homeowners and anyone who uses the health-care system — comes as the provincial Liberals prepare for next year’s election campaign. The party, which has been at the helm for 14 years, has seen its popularity falter in recent polls. PHARMACARE FOR YOUTH: A new program will offer free prescription drug coverage to anyone under 25, regardless of family income. The OHIP+ program, which is a key plank of the province’s fiscal plan, will include the more than 4,400 prescription medications currently covered by the Ontario Drug Benefit program and requires no copayment or deductible. It takes effect in January of next year and is expected to cost $465 million per fiscal year. SENIORS: A new tax credit will make getting around on public transit a little more affordable for those 65 and over. It will allow seniors to claim 15 per cent of eligible transit expenses, up to $130 a year, which is expected to cost the province $10 million annually. Money is also earmarked to build 40 new so-called elderly persons centres, which run programs such as meals on wheels. TOBACCO AND HOTEL TAXES: The Liberal government is increasing tobacco taxes and giving municipalities the authority to introduce a hotel tax. The tax on a carton of cigarettes will go up $10 over the next three years, with the first $2 increase to kick in Friday. The hotel tax will be designed by the municipalities after amendments are made to the Municipal Act and the City of Toronto Act. NET DEBT: The province may have eliminated the deficit in the 2017-18 budget, but net debt continues to grow. It’s projected to reach $312 billion this fiscal year and rise by $24 billion by 2019-20, even though the Liberals expect to balance the next two budgets as well. The Canadian Press