Hospitals get 1.5 per cent in provincial budget – no money for wage increases in upcoming collective agreements

The McGuinty government committed $2.269 billion more in direct health care spending in the 2010/11 provincial budget — not enough to stave off impending cuts.

Hospitals will receive a 1.5 per cent increase to their base operating budgets, about half of what the Ontario Hospital Association had said was needed to maintain the status quo.

While the government continues to fear monger about runaway health care costs — the reality is health care (including health promotion) actually dropped as a percentage of program spending – from 46 cents on the program dollar, to 40 cents.  However, the government claims that it amounts to 45 cents for this coming year, but only after “controlling for time-limited investments and the method of presenting education sector expenses.”  That’s still suggest health care costs are trending down, not up, as a percentage of the provincial budget.

As a percentage of total provincial expenditures, health care represents 37 per cent.

Spending on health promotion increased to $408.7 million from $380.9 million. This figure is often included in health spending figures, although health promotion includes such programs as upgrades to hockey arenas and other recreational facilities.

Few specifics were available on new health care initiatives, although $100 million was set aside to reduce wait times in emergency rooms, an initiative that has had little success to date.

According to CUPE, Growing sectors for health care spending have been OHIP Physician funding and drug costs, having grown 57.6 per cent and 33.7 per cent since 2003. By comparison, hospital spending only grew by 23.8 per cent during the same period.

Government has promised legislation that will bring down the cost of generic drugs.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan indicated in his speech that while he will respect existing collective agreements, the fiscal plan provides no funding for incremental compensation increases for any future collective agreements.

$599.6 million less was spent on health care expenditures budgeted for 2009/10 due to lower than expected H1N1 costs and delays in recreational capital projects.

Real growth in the economy is expected to be 2.7 per cent in 2010 and 3.2 per cent in 2011.

The budget includes $4 billion in personal and corporate tax cuts this year.

What other health care organizations are saying:

“Ontario’s nurses want to be able to take pride in the work they do. They want to provide high quality care and make positive differences in the lives of the people they care for.This simply isn’t feasible with a 1.5% funding increase – we’re likely to see nurses with increased patient loads, resulting in a higher incidence of sick days and more overtime, adding significant costs to the system.” – Dianne Martin, Executive Director, Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario

“The government will increase base operating funding for the hospital sector by 1.5% in 2010-11. However, many critical details about hospital funding in 2010-11 remain unknown. The Budget does not provide information about funding sources other than the base operating increase and as a result, it is premature to assess potential impacts on services and staff.”  –OHA President and CEO Tom Closson.

“A 1.5% increase in global funding for hospitals means that there is a gap between hospital funding and inflation for the third year in a row. The evidence is that hospitals cannot continue to sustain the underfunding of their global budgets. Deficits will continue and more services will be threatened.” – Dora Jeffries, chair of the Ontario Health Coalition.

“While we recognize the difficult fiscal situation the government faces, we will be very disappointed if investments to increase staff fall short of the need. We are willing to work with the government to increase our capacity to care for seniors coming out of hospitals, but we can’t perform this role without adequate staffing and resources,” – Donna Rubin, CEO of Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OANHSS)

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario said they were pleased with budget, including reaffirmation of the McGuinty government’s commitment to open 25 additional nurse practitioner-led clinics before the next election. “These clinics are needed now as the lack of access to primary care in dozens of Ontario communities means people are forced to go to hospital emergency rooms,” says Doris Grinspun, Executive Director of the RNAO.

“Every Ontarian should brace themselves for yet more cuts to the health care they need and count on. ONA has been tracking the deletion of registered nursing positions for about eight months now, and we’ve seen more than 1,800 RN positions cut, totaling more than 3.5 million hours of patient care per year that are gone forever.” said Linda Haslam-Stroud, President of the Ontario Nurses Association.

“While we don’t have specific details, it is our understanding that current care and service funding levels will be retained with adjustments in recognition of increasing cost pressures. We appreciate that government continues to recognize the need to invest in the important role that homes play in meeting the healthcare needs of long term care residents.” — Christina Bisanz, CEO of the Ontario Long Term Care Assocation