"Ontario's Ministry of Health has tasked hospitals struggling with deficits to come up with a three-year plan to balance their budgets, and service cuts and bed closures do not appear to be off the table for extreme cases. The Ontario Hospital Association has said that hospitals ended last year $360 million in the red and need an additional $1 billion in funding this year to keep pace with population growth and inflation."
"(This budgeting exercise) is a prudent thing to do, given the realities facing the province today, which is our economy is under direct threat from the trade war initiated by the United States. It's quite clear, based on the report of several weeks ago from the financial accountability officer, that Ontario faces a very large deficit stemming in part from that trade war."
Hospitals in Ontario must produce three-year balanced-budget plans in response to provincial direction, with service cuts and bed closures possible in extreme cases. Hospitals reported a $360 million deficit last year and say they need an additional $1 billion this year to match population growth and inflation. Government guidance asks hospitals to assume two per cent annual funding increases for planning. The guidance is not a confirmed funding commitment, and hospitals interpret it as a signal of belt tightening. Ontario hospitals spent $9.2 billion on private staffing agencies over the past decade. The FAO projects deficits lasting until at least 2030.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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