Bill 85, Transparent and Accountable Health Care Act, 2025
Chamber
ontario
Stage
Introduced
This Ontario bill requires health organizations receiving $1M+ in public funds to meet transparency and accountability rules.
Key Changes
- Health organizations receiving $1M+ from the Ministry of Health are classified as 'major health sector organizations' subject to new rules
- Private suppliers receiving $1M+ indirectly from those health organizations are classified as 'publicly-funded suppliers' and face the same rules
- All covered organizations must comply with the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, capping executive pay
- All covered organizations must publicly disclose salaries over $100,000 under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act (the 'Sunshine List')
- All covered organizations are deemed 'governmental organizations' under the Ombudsman Act, allowing public complaints
- The Auditor General gains authority to audit any aspect of these organizations' operations
Gotchas
- The rules apply starting in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2027, giving organizations time to prepare but delaying immediate effect
- The bill explicitly includes for-profit businesses as potentially covered entities, which is a broader reach than typical public sector accountability laws
- A supplier can be covered even if it receives public funds indirectly through multiple layers of contracting, which could be complex to track and enforce
- The bill is at First Reading stage, introduced by an opposition MPP, meaning it may not advance further without government support
- The Ombudsman designation means individuals can file complaints about these organizations, expanding public recourse beyond what currently exists for many private health contractors
Who's Affected
- Hospitals, long-term care homes, and boards of health receiving provincial funding
- Ontario Health and its affiliated organizations
- Private, for-profit companies that supply goods or services to publicly funded health organizations
- Executives at covered organizations whose compensation may be capped
- Employees earning over $100,000 at covered organizations who would appear on the Sunshine List
- Ontario taxpayers and patients who would gain greater visibility into health spending
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The rules apply starting in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2027, giving organizations time to prepare but delaying immediate effect
- The bill explicitly includes for-profit businesses as potentially covered entities, which is a broader reach than typical public sector accountability laws
- A supplier can be covered even if it receives public funds indirectly through multiple layers of contracting, which could be complex to track and enforce
- The bill is at First Reading stage, introduced by an opposition MPP, meaning it may not advance further without government support
- The Ombudsman designation means individuals can file complaints about these organizations, expanding public recourse beyond what currently exists for many private health contractors
Summary
Bill 85 creates new transparency and accountability rules for Ontario health care organizations and their suppliers that receive significant public funding. Any organization getting at least $1 million per year from the Ministry of Health — such as hospitals, long-term care homes, or air ambulance providers — must follow existing public sector rules about executive pay limits and salary disclosure. These organizations are also subject to oversight by the Ontario Ombudsman and can be audited by the Auditor General. The bill also extends these same rules to 'publicly-funded suppliers' — companies or organizations that receive at least $1 million indirectly from those health organizations, even if they are private, for-profit businesses. This means private companies that contract with publicly funded health organizations could also face salary disclosure requirements and government audits. The bill was introduced by France Gélinas, an NDP MPP, and appears aimed at increasing public oversight of how health care dollars are spent, particularly as more services are delivered through private or contracted providers.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses