Review hospital funding formula, Miller tells Liberals

QUEEN’S PARK — While the provincial election writ is dropped any day now (this week?) more clarity will emerge from the parties on health care funding.

MPP Norm Miller says local hospitals aren’t getting their fair share of provincial funding.

Defending MPP Norm Miller got another jump on it by introducing a motion calling on Kathleen Wynne’s government to “immediately review the funding formula for hospitals in order to address the chronic underfunding of small- and medium-sized hospitals.”

He says in a release about last week’s motion: “This has been an issue for a number of years but when I saw the discrepancy between the government announcement of a 4.6% increase for hospitals and the 1% and 1.4% increases that our hospitals in Parry Sound-Muskoka received, I knew something needed to change,” said Miller.

Miller noted that West Parry Sound Health Centre has received only a 1% increase and Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare received 1.4%, while some hospitals are getting much more.

He cited, as an example, Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill, which is getting an 11.5% increase in funding.

In response to a similar question during Question Period on April 10, the Minister of Health and Long-term Care told Miller that growing communities are receiving more funding.

In reply, Miller shot back: “But having a fully operational hospital is necessary in order to grow a community because neither businesses nor families want to move somewhere that doesn’t have access to hospital services. And in our communities much of the growth is from retirees who really need easy access to a hospital with acute care.”

The underfunding of medium sized hospitals is one of the factors in Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s considerations about the future of the Huntsville District Memorial and South Muskoka Memorial Hospitals according to the MAHC presentation to Huntsville town council.

“Hospital funding had been virtually frozen for five years while hospital expenses like hydro costs and staff salaries – things the provincial government controls – have been going up,” said Miller. “This isn’t just about hospitals in Parry Sound-Muskoka, small- and medium-sized hospitals across rural and small town Ontario are being short changed.”