Jan Mowbray – Ward 3 Councillor

Health Services in Our Community

Who is responsible for hospitals?

    * Public hospitals in Ontario are governed by a Board of Directors and are, for the most part, incorporated under the Corporations Act.
    * Each hospital determines its priorities to address the needs of the communities it serves and allocates its budget accordingly.
    * The Public Hospitals Act, and its regulations, provide the framework within which hospitals operate.
    * The 14 LHINS have offices throughout the province and are the local contact for area health service providers, including hospitals, with regards to funding and planning.
    * The corporate Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care office develops operational policy for the ministry, and for the hospital, regarding hospitals.

How are hospitals funded and administered by the Province?

Most Ontario hospitals are governed by a Board of Directors. The Board has legal and management responsibility for the hospital and it is accountable to the ministry for the use of its provincial subsidy grants.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) ensures accountability to the hospital sector through various legal, and funding mechanisms. The MOHLTC monitors hospital activity through annual Operating Plans, in-year variance reports, and a number of other data submissions.

Operating Plans describe how hospitals intend to run their operations over the coming fiscal year while the data submissions report on the outcomes. Ministry approval of Operating Plans is required before hospitals implement any changes to the services they provide.

Funding for hospital services is governed under the authority of the Public Hospitals Act. Funding is based primarily on a principle of global (or base) funding budgets provided to each hospital annually. These budget allotments are based primarily on past allocations and annual adjustments to reflect changes in costs. In addition, special program funding is available for new/expanded programs and specialized high cost services, like cardiovascular and dialysis services and treatments.

Separate funding is also provided for capital construction projects. The hospital Board and management work with their local community to determine the most appropriate use of their funding to provide hospital programs and services to their community.

Provincial payments to hospitals constitute approximately 85 % of total hospital funding. The remaining 15 % of hospital funding is provided through a variety of sources such as charges for semi-private and private accommodation, Worker’s Compensation payments, and others.

For the most part, physicians’ services provided to hospital patients are not part of the global budget but are paid through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.