Mayors form alliance over underfunding

Jason Misner

03/02/05 00:00:00
Politicians from the GTA/905 regions are demanding the Ontario government reverse the cycle of inadequately funding hospitals -- including Joseph Brant Memorial.

Last month, GTA/905 mayors and regional chairs from Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Peel and York unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Liberal government to allocate a fair share of health-care funding.

The vote came after a presentation by the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance -- an organization that includes 11 hospital groups in the regions and suburban Toronto, but not Toronto's downtown hospitals. It concluded GTA/905 hospitals are being underfunded by about $545 million a year, plus $70 million annually for home care.

The alliance maintains GTA/905 hospitals receive 30 per cent less in total health care funding, 27 per cent less hospital funding and 24 per cent less for home care than they should.

"What we're trying to do is make the case that investing in the 905 is a good idea," Tariq Asmi, the alliance's executive director, said in an interview; he noted information was gleaned from census data as well as statistics from the ministries of health and long-term care and finance.

Underscoring the issue of funding fairness, according to the alliance, is that the three million people living in Halton, Durham, Peel and York represent 25 per cent of Ontario's population.

And these areas keep growing.

The group said each year, 90,000 new residents move into the regions served by the GTA/905 hospitals. Between 1996-2003, the GTA/905 region grew by 33.9 per cent, more than double the province's population growth rate.

The alliance noted residents of the 905 area contribute $573 million annually to the province's new Ontario Health Premium including $96 million from Halton.

Mayor Rob MacIsaac said the current funding formula is "flawed" and it needs to be reviewed to ensure GTA/905 hospitals get the proper amount of funding to provide the health care local residents need.

Jo Brant for example has to refer patients to Mississauga or Hamilton for coronary treatment since the hospital doesn't provide it here.

According to Jo Brant officials, the hospital has been given an over-serviced rating by the ministry, meaning it provides more medical services than it should for the population it serves. The hospital has said the designation has cost the hospital $6 million-$8 million in operating funds in the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

MacIsaac said the resolution demanding changes to hospital funding might not force the government's hand by itself, but it at least keeps the issue on the table.

"I certainly have spoken to the (health minister) about it, but the more voices coming with that message, the more resonance it will have with the Ministry of Health."

Halton Chair Joyce Savoline said the region's quality of life is at risk if hospitals continue to get shortchanged on funding. Halton residents, she said, have come to expect a healthy living and part of that is achieved by having healthy hospitals.

"When you think about how much goes out in taxes, we ought to be getting our fair share back," she said.

Halton Tory MPP Ted Chudleigh -- whose riding represents a portion of north Burlington -- said he tried to get the funding formula changed when it was introduced by his Conservative party under then Premier Mike Harris.

"I think the funding formula didn't have the flexibility in it perhaps that it should have," he said.

"Halton is the fastest growing community in the GTA and will continue in that direction with greenbelt legislation, and other things."

The head of Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital is hopeful the report issued by the health-care lobby group will spur ministry changes.

President and CEO Don Scott, who has been outspoken about unbalanced funding, said not only should the government recognize the growth explosions in the GTA/905 areas, but also those of other growth areas like in Kanata, west of Ottawa.

"Our challenge is that Burlington is seen to have more health services available to it than the average area in the province, so our dollar increase has been severely compressed because of it," he said.

"Even though we're efficient, we didn't get any dollars related to it."

Meanwhile, Asmi said hospitals like Jo Brant have tried to become as lean as possible to save public dollars, but "you can only achieve so much in savings through efficiencies ... (and) any further reduction in expenditures would likely impact care."

Another important factor the government must seriously take into account when funding hospitals is demographics, Asmi stressed.

Burlington's senior population is growing rapidly. According to the mayor's office, the latest data from Statistics Canada shows Burlington's senior population (age 65 and over) has shot up 20 per cent between 1996-2001 -- from 17,645 in 1996 to 21,235 in 2001.

Asmi said the growth rate of the GTA's senior population is expected to double the provincial average by 2011.