Bill 74 is Out of Committee

Bill 74 – The People’s Health Care Act, 2019 – has been reported out of Committee and was ordered for third reading yesterday.

There are very few changes – the handful of significant changes are summarized below:

1. Big changes for LTC homes. Sections 33(2)(d) and (e) are changed to remove a prohibition on the Minister issuing a specific type of integration order to municipalities and boards of management that are LTC licensees and to stand-alone LTCs that are not part of another type of health service provider. The Minister may now issue an integration order to these LTC homes to “co-ordinate services with or partner with” another person/entity funded by Ontario Health. In the first draft these types of LTC homes were protected from the issuance of this type of integration order.

2. Facilitated integration decisions. The Minister can issue a “facilitated decision” order only after the parties reach an agreement with respect to the integration – this is an improvement.

3. Appointment of supervisor. The Bill clarifies that the Minister may only appoint a supervisor over a health service provider that is funded by Ontario Health.

4. Indigenous health. In a couple places there’s a positive obligation on the Minister to engage with Indigenous communities before specifying the planning entities for Indigenous health that it will formally engage with.

5. Equity. Generally, in the background, there is a new commitment to equity and equitable health outcomes.

If you have any questions, please contact Kathy O’Brien @ kobrien@ddohealthlaw.com.