NDP health critic from Nickel Belt said she wants transparency for public health dollars being spent on for-profit and investor-led health clinics
Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas, the official opposition critic for health care, has re-introduced a private members’ bill that is designed to increase transparency in the health sector by having more accountability on health spending projects.
Gélinas said one of the key reasons for the bill is to track the amount of public funding directed to for-profit and investor-led health clinics in Ontario.
“The Auditor General report makes it clear; we need more transparency and accountability in health care spending,” said Gélinas.
“With the Ford Conservative government pouring public health dollars into for-profit, investor-led clinics; it’s very important that Ontario implement oversight provisions to protect those public dollars.”
She added that the province needs to be able to account for overspending problems that occurred in years past when millions of taxpayer dollars were spent without appropriate accountability.
“This bill will protect patients from illegal fees. We saw how much money could be pilfered during the ORNGE Air ambulance fiasco,” Gélinas said in a news release.
“The diluted chemo drug scandal showed Ontarians that lack of oversight can directly affect patient care.
“The bill will bring the transparency and accountability we were promised but that never came. If we want a health-care system that Ontarians can truly trust we need to ensure there is oversight, accountability and transparency.”
The Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act — Bill 85 — would apply to health sector organizations, as well as to publicly funded suppliers, said the release.
The Act would mandate more public disclosure for these organizations, including Executive Compensation and Salary Disclosure. The Act would also classify these organizations and suppliers as governmental organizations under the Ombudsman Act and would permit Auditor General oversight.
The bill was introduced in the Ontario Legislature on Dec. 2. It was passed on first reading. The bill will need to be approved for three readings before it can become law.