A woman from Ontario refused to transfer her mother from a hospital in Windsor to a nursing home she despises and received an $8,400 bill from the hospital, but she stated she has no intention of paying.
In order to alleviate the pressure of insufficient hospital beds, Ontario passed a law in the fall of 2022 that allows hospitals to transfer elderly patients who are ready for discharge to nursing homes that are not chosen by the patients themselves in order to free up beds. If a patient refuses and continues to stay in the hospital, a fine of $400 per day will be imposed.
According to this law, hospitals can send patients to nursing homes up to 70 kilometers away involuntarily, or to nursing homes 150 kilometers away in Northern Ontario if there are vacancies available.
Michele Campeau and her 83-year-old mother Ruth Poupard are reportedly affected by this law, as reported by the Canadian Press.
Grace Healthcare, where Campeau’s mother is located, billed them for 21 days of medical care in March this year. The bill includes instructions for payment through a payment center, phone, or online.
“I will not pay because the law is wrong,” Campeau said. “The way they treat the elderly is unfair.”
Campeau’s mother is still waiting for a satisfactory bed in a long-term care facility, and Campeau anticipates that with the increasing daily fines, there will be larger bills in the coming weeks.
Grace Hospital stated that due to patient privacy considerations, they cannot comment on Poupard’s case.
Shortly after Christmas last year, Campeau’s mother fell and broke her hip, underwent surgery at a hospital, and was transferred to Grace Hospital for rehabilitation. On February 21, Grace Hospital believed Campeau’s mother could be discharged. Campeau’s mother has dementia and requires 24-hour care.
However, Campeau believes she is unable to care for her mother, so together with the hospital, they looked for multiple nursing homes for her mother, all of which were full. There was one nursing home with a vacancy, but Campeau was not satisfied with it.
As a result, the hospital began charging them $400 per day. Campeau said she visited that nursing home and found it “disgusting,” so she refused to let her mother stay there.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” she said. “I just really want my mom to be in a decent place, that’s all.”
The provincial government stated that only seven people have been fined under the nursing home law, and the hospitals are responsible for the fines. Health Minister Sylvia Jones stated that due to patient confidentiality, the amount these patients have been charged cannot be disclosed.