What you need to know about Ontario's changes to the Northern Health Travel Grant
CBC News | Posted: April 30, 2024 9:23 PM | Last Updated: April 30
Ontario is spending $45M over three years to expand the program
Northern Ontario residents who need to travel to access health care will receive more provincial assistance starting this fall.
The Ontario government is spending $45 million over three years to expand the Northern Health Travel Grant. While the expansion was initially included in the 2024 Ontario budget, Ontario Health Minister and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones held a news conference in Thunder Bay on Tuesday to provide further details.
The changes to the program include:
- The introduction of an online application process that includes digital receipt submissions for faster reimbursement;
- Adding more eligible health care providers and facility locations;
- Increasing the accommodation allowance from $100 to $175 per night;
- Reducing the travel distance requirement to be eligible for the overnight accommodation allowance from 200 km to 100 km, and
- Increasing the total allowance for eight or more nights from $550 to $1,150.
A full list of changes can be found on the Ontario website.
"We know that for too long patients in northern Ontario have faced unique challenges when accessing healthcare," Jones said during a visit to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) on Tuesday morning. "Our investments to expand and enhance the Northern Health Travel Grant will ensure more people in northern Ontario can connect to the specialized care they need when they need it."
Jones added, however, that the grant is "one piece" of the provincial health care system, and said the province is working to increase the system's capacity province-wide.
"Fifty hospitals are, right now, in the process of being built new, renovated or expanded," Jones said. "That is a capital piece that ensures that we will have over 3,000 more hospital beds across Ontario."
"When we do that, of course, we need more health human resources," she said. "So we are expanding and we have expanded access to school in northern Ontario, southern Ontario."
"I'm particularly proud of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. We've had over 100 new seats available for physicians who want to train in northern Ontario, and 60 per cent of those are for primary care family docs. We know that when people train in communities, they tend to stay in those communities."
WATCH | Learn more about how NOSM is training doctors differently:
Paul Carr, a patient family advisor with TBRHSC, said people in the region can face barriers when it comes to accessing the care they need.
"It would be great if patients could access the same level of care and services throughout the province, but we know this is not the case right now," he said. "Some of our patients have to travel to access care, and this can be a daunting experience for some."
"It may be the first time they've ever traveled to an urban centre, and of course it can be expensive," Carr said. "This can be a deterrent to accessing care, as well as an added burden during a very stressful time for both patients and families."
"Many patients rely on the Northern Health Travel Grant program to help provide financial assistance."
In a media release, the province said about 66,000 northern Ontario residents made use of the grant program in 2022-23.